


Sticks and Stones

by Frecktacular



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2020-04-07 22:25:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 170,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19094296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frecktacular/pseuds/Frecktacular
Summary: Isabella Swann is the younger sister to Elizabeth Swann, the two of them have very much in common, but when her sister gets kidnapped by pirates, Isabella doesn't want to sit around waiting to hopefully hear good new, so she joins her good friend Will in enlisting the help of a pirate to get her sister back, and along the way, she finds herself more intrigued by the pirate than she ever thought she would be.





	1. Chapter 1

For as long as Isabella Swann could remember she had looked up to her older sister, Elizabeth, and being only a year younger than her the two of them were as close at two sisters could be. The two looked very similar too, minus a few distinct traits that made them recognizable, while Elizabeth had blond hair, Isabella’s hair was more of an auburn color, and her eyes were a little bit lighter than her sisters, slightly brighter too, several more freckles dusted the younger sister’s cheeks, a compliment to her love of the outdoors.

The two girls also shared a forbidden love of adventure, their favorite memories were when their father would take them sailing, and today was no different. The two of them stood hand in hand, giggling as they sang a song they’d both learned from their mother before she passed, a song about pirates.

“Drink up, me hearties, yo ho!” Isabella giggled, squeezing her sisters hand as Elizabeth continued to sing.

Isabella would’ve joined back in if it weren’t for a strong hand coming down on both of the girl’s shoulders. Isabella gasped and spun around to see the familiar face of Mr. Gibbs, frowning down at them, “Quiet you two,” He commanded, “Cursed pirates sail these waters, you don’t want to bring them down on us, do ya?” He asked, narrowing his eyes as he tried to spook the two girls. 

“Mr. Gibbs,” Norrington spoke up, sending a polite smile towards the two girls, “That’s enough.”

Elizabeth seemed very invested in the conversation that the two men were having, chiming in every once in a while with her opinion, but Isabella found her eyes wondering back out towards the waters that surrounded them, it was almost a magical sight to her, to be surrounded by nothing but the ocean, she absolutely loved it.

“I think it would be rather fascinating to meet a pirate,” Elizabeth spoke up, her eyes sparkling.

Isabella turned back around to see Norrington lean down towards the older sibling, “Think again, Miss Swann, Vile creatures, the lot of them. I intend to see to it that any man who sails under a pirate flag or wears a pirate brand gets what he deserves, a short drop and a sudden stop,” Isabella watched as Mr. Gibbs mimed a noose going around his neck, shocking her at the thought.

“Lieutenant Norrington,” Came their father’s voice as he walked up behind them, “I appreciate your fervor but I’m concerned about the effects this conversation will have on my daughters,” He warned, setting a hand on both of the girl’s shoulders.

“Actually I find it all fascinating,” Isabella piped up, her eyes fixated on the water once more, finding that more interesting than the thought of killing pirates.

She could hear her father sigh as he let go of her, “Yes, that’s what I’m concerned of,” He conceded, leaving the two girls to themselves once more.

Elizabeth was quick to join Isabella back over the railing of the side of the boat, gazing out at the open waters surrounded by fog, it wasn’t until there was shapes that started to emerge from the fog either of the girls thought anything of it.

“What’s that?” Elizabeth asked, pointing towards what looked like a piece of rubbage floating in the waters, but the closer they got to it, the easier it was to make out that they were looking at a boy about their age floating on a piece of wreckage, “Look!” Elizabeth shouted, getting the attention of the crew, “There’s a boy, a boy in the water!”

The men on the ship were quick to get the poor boy aboard, all eyes on him, that’s why no one but Isabella spotted deep black sails moving further into the fog that surrounded them. She was roused out of her stupor when Elizabeth pulled her towards where the boy was being pampered.

“Girls, I want you to accompany the boy,” Their father said in between the craziness of the situation, “He’ll be in your charge, take care of him,” He ordered, moving to talk to Norrington once more while the two of them knelt by either side of Will’s head.

Elizabeth was clearly confused by the boy, Isabella could see it in her face as she reached out to brush some wet hair from his face. They were both startled when the boy let out a watery cough before grabbing Elizabeth’s hand, “It’s okay, my name is Elizabeth Swann, this is my sister Isabella,” She introduced, lowering her hand.

“Will Turner,” He managed to get out through heavy breaths, his eyes moving back and forth between the two girls.

“I’m watching over you, Will,” Elizabeth said just as his eyes rolled back and he we was passed out once more.

Isabella’s eyes were glued onto something that had slipped out of his shirt, however, “What’s that?” She asked, reaching out to grab the medallion in one hand.

Elizabeth immediately pulled the cord from around his neck, pulling it out of Isabella’s hand and studying it closely, “You’re a pirate?” She asked the sleeping boy, eyes wide in shock, matching Isabella’s wide eyed stare.

Just then Norrington came up behind the two of them, forcing Elizabeth to hide her new treasure behind her back, “Has he said anything?” He demanded.

“Just that his name’s Will Turner,” Isabella spoke up, wondering if her sister would give away the fact that he was a pirate, she was glad to hear her sister staying silent, “That’s all we found out.”

Norrington nodded before turning towards the two men behind him, “Take him below,” He declared, turning towards the helm once more.

Isabella spared the boy one last glance before she turned towards the waters again, her mind racing with the possibilities that lied out on the open seas.

* * *

Isabella woke up bright and early on the morning of James’ promotion ceremony, he was to become Commodore today, and she knew that he planned on proposing to her older sister afterwards, something she wasn’t sure would work out for the two of them, but what could she possibly do about that? She just had to be happy that James was finally getting his promotion and her sister was going to get married, honestly what more could she ask for. However, she wouldn’t mind if Elizabeth waited a little longer to get married, it was selfish, but as soon as her older sister got married, she would be able to get married, and she wasn’t sure that was something she’d necessarily want at her age… or ever.

Elizabeth had gotten to wait until she was 22 to have their father finally push her towards accepting a proposal, of course there had been plenty of suitors, but none Elizabeth fancied enough to say yes to, but here was James, someone they had known for most of their lives, he was nice enough, and Elizabeth and him got on well enough, but now that he was getting promoted, his status wasn’t holding him back from proposing as soon as he was Commodore Norrington.

There was a loud knock on her door, signaling the arrival of her father, most likely coming to make sure she was awake and would be able to be ready for the ceremony on time.

“Come in,” She announced, pulling her hair up into a messy bun.

She was correct, it was her father who was carrying a large box, followed by her handmaids, Shannon and Maryann, leaving her to assume that whatever was in the box she’d need some help with.

“Good morning, Isabella,” Her father smiled, “I’ve got a present for you,” He told her, holding out the box, allowing Isabella to throw the lid off so she could get a good look at whatever he’d gotten for her.

Inside the box was a beautiful lilac and cream colored dress, decorated with intricate swirls and patterns as far as she could see, “It’s beautiful,” She beamed, pulling it out of the box and holding it out in front of her before her handmaid’s grabbed it and ushered her behind her dressing curtain, “I’m guessing it’s for the ceremony?” She asked, sending a pointed look towards her father before they were able to successfully get her behind the curtain so she could try on the dress.

“Yes and no, I thought you would enjoy a new dress, I’m told it’s the latest fashion in London, and it works well for the occasion,” He confessed.  

Isabella preferred to dress herself if she could, and if her father weren’t here she would’ve been more casual with her two handmaids, but she knew how he would react if she did, so she was left to let them do their job for once, which they would’ve had to do once she went to put on her corset for the dress, regardless. While Maryann fussed with the front of the dress, Shannon was tugging as tightly as she could on the corset’s strings at her back, practically knocking the wind out of Isabella the more she tightened it. “Oh,” Isabella breathed, using Maryann’s hands to steady herself against the harsh tugs, “Whoever decided _this_ would be the latest trend for women in London must really hate us,” She muttered, hoping her father wouldn’t be able to hear her.

But of course he heard her, “I digress, I’m sure you look lovely,” He waved her down.

She took a moment to catch her breath before the rest of the dress was slid over her head, and spread out around her legs, finally allowing her to come out from behind the dressing curtain so her father could get a good look at the dress he’d bought for her, “You think so?” She asked, raising her arms slightly and giving him a small twirl.

He smiled, “I do, and I trust you’ll be able to get ready with some help,” He said with a pointed look towards her two maids, “I will go wake your sister, as you know it’s a big day for her,” He grinned before taking his leave from her room.

Finally Isabella let herself relax, and she noticed her maids did slightly as well, despite her attempts to get them to be more formal with her it never really worked out that well in her favor, but at least they were willing to use her first name when they were alone now, “I don’t think I will be able to _sit_ in this corset and still be able to breath,” She said, looking between Maryann and Shannon, “Do you think we could loosen it while you do my hair?” She asked, hopefully.

“I think so Miss Isabella,” Shannon agreed, moving to undo the back of the dress slightly so she could reach the corset better, letting her breathe freely once more, “Now if you’ll sit?” She asked, gesturing towards the chair nearest to her vanity.

Shannon was quick to get to work on her hair while Maryann worked on her face, trying to just brighten her look a little bit, which thankfully didn’t take as long as it did to make up her hair, Maryann had given her a little bit of blush on her cheeks, and had slightly lined her upper eyelids with some kohl, making her look a little bit older and really making her eyes pop, but that was all she wanted, makeup wasn’t really her favorite thing to wear, she preferred to go without it most day despite her status, but because of the occasion she decided to allow it this time.

Her hair took much longer since she had pretty thick hair, but it didn’t hold too well, but Shannon was always able to make it into something beautiful, a trick Isabella didn’t know how she did so well. When Shannon was done, Isabella’s hair had been done up in a beautiful half up half down look, with several pieces framing her face while the rest of her hair from the top had been pulled up in a large bun, teased to the extreme, while the rest of it ran down her back in soft ringlets.

“Thank you both,” She grinned at her reflection before standing up, preparing herself for the corset being tightened once more.

Shannon was quick to tighten the corset again and slip the lilac dress back over her shoulders, feeling ready enough to go downstairs to meet up with her father once more.

Moving downstairs, Isabella noticed it was her father standing there with a familiar figure, but Elizabeth must’ve still been getting ready for the occasion and would hopefully be downstairs soon, but as soon as Isabella recognized the familiar figure she practically bounded down the rest of the stairs, ignoring how restricted her breathing was at the moment, “William,” She greeted, a large smile plastered on her face, “How are you?”

Will bowed his head when she joined the two men, smiling politely at her, “I am very well Ms. Swann, if I may, you look very lovely today,” He complemented, knowing Isabella would think nothing of it, and hopefully her father wouldn’t either, she knew it was just friendly words between two close friends.

“Thank you very much Mr. Turner, you look rather well yourself, will you be going to the ceremony today?” She asked.

He nodded, “Of course, I wouldn’t miss it-” He began, his words only getting cut off once a noise caught their attention from the top of the stairs, alerting all of them to Elizabeth’s arrival.

“Oh, Elizabeth, you look absolutely stunning,” Their father breathed, a smile plastered on his face.

Her sister smile at their father before beaming down at her and finally her eyes landed on Will, and Isabella could see the absolute delight that lit up her face, “Will, it’s so good to see you, I had a dream about you last night,” She said, almost too excitedly, leaving Isabella to giggle at how obvious the two of them were.

“About me?” Will asked.

Isabella couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable her father looked, but he didn’t necessarily move to stop the conversation so they continued, “About the day we met, do you remember?” She asked.

“How could I forget Ms. Swann,” He replied.

Isabella nearly rolled her eyes, the two of them were so smitten with each other but neither of them had the gall to admit it, it was just horrible neither of them were able to buck up sooner, there would be no easy way for Elizabeth to get out of a proposal from James after this, but of course the two of them would just keep beating around the bush, there was nothing new here.

“How many times have I told you to call me Elizabeth?” She asked with a grin.

Will nodded, sheepishly, “At least once more, Ms. Swann,” At this Isabella couldn’t help but let out a laugh, not so discreetly trying to pass it off as nothing more than a cough, but Elizabeth noticed her all the same.

“There see?” Their father finally spoke up, not being able to keep his words to himself any longer, “At least the boy has a sense of propriety, now we really must be going,” He decided, passing both his daughters parasols before opening the door for them and leaving them to follow him outside.

“Good day Mr. Turner,” Elizabeth said, following their father outside.

Isabella gave him a sad pat on the arm, “I will see you soon, Will, and you should really talk to my sister soon, before it’s too late,” She warned, leaving their house before he could ask her what she meant by that.

The carriage ride to James’ ceremony was filled with the two girls gushing over each other and their father staring out the window as they rode along. It took all Isabella had to not ask her sister about how she would respond if James did propose today, but she knew it wasn’t a conversation that they should have in front of their father so she held off, hoping she’d get a chance to talk to her before James could pull her away, but at this point she wasn’t so sure that would happen.

The ceremony was very lovely, and the three of them had a very spectacular view of the whole thing, which was something Isabella wasn’t going to complain about, she was very lucky she was the daughter of the governor and she knew that, but sometimes life for her just felt too easy.

Thankfully, their father was very invested in the ceremony, leaving some room for the two sisters to chat quietly while the ceremony was going on, “How are you feeling?” Isabella asked.

Elizabeth shot her a look, “I’m not particularly thrilled to be in this corset, but I’m sure you agree,” She said with a quiet laugh.

Isabella nodded, “Yes, that’s true, but I’m wondering-” She was cut off from a quick shush from her father as he wordlessly told them to focus on James once more, taking away Isabella’s only opportunity at the moment.

Once the ceremony was over and James was officially Commodore Norrington, their father pulled the both of them over to where James was and very eagerly congratulated him, the two daughters following in their father’s footsteps, and it wasn’t long after that before James pulled Elizabeth away from the crowd.

Isabella knew that Elizabeth would want to speak with her after his proposal, but she should be happy about it, James was really a nice man and he would be good to her, she hoped she said yes, but there was still Will to worry about, she would’ve loved to see the two of them together, they would’ve made a very lovely pair.

Speaking of Will, he was supposed to be here. Isabella decided to go and try to find him, and give him fair warning of what was about to happen, but the more she wandered around, the more she knew he had already left, most likely to go back to making more swords for himself to practice with. She couldn’t help but to laugh at the thought, he really was a strange man, but more importantly he was a good friend. She didn’t even realize that at that point she’d wandered out towards the beach but when she found herself standing on one of the docs she’d realized what she’d done.

Perhaps while she was looking for Will she just wandered outside, not even realizing what she was doing, she had always been drawn to the water so it wasn’t a surprise that this was where she found herself after a long morning.

Her eyes wandered over the docs and the ocean past them, it really was a beautiful sight, one she couldn’t bear to tear herself away from, until she noticed a strange trio of men standing on one of the ships that belonged to their fleet. She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out who she was looking at, obviously two of the men were soldiers, dressed in the typical red and white colors that she was so used to seeing around the Port, but the other man was anything but what she was used to seeing. He appeared to be dressed in many dark layers, browns and blacks for the most part, on top of his long dark hair was a matching brown hair that looked like it had seen better days. On top of his outermost layer he seemed to have many trinkets including a belt with several holsters, for what she couldn’t tell, but there seemed to be several strange items hanging off of him. She couldn’t help but be curious as to who the strange man was, but she didn’t have time to dwell on him for too long, in the next second she heard a loud splash to the right of her, and just when she looked over to see what the commotion was, she heard James’ voice calling out desperately for her sister.

Immediately, Isabella knew what had happened, Elizabeth had managed to fall in, and there was no one to help her. Without thinking, she started running for the docs nearest to where she fell, in hopes that she’d be able to see her or _something_ but there was no way she’d be able to jump in after her sister, she’d most likely drown herself, trying to swim in her large dress.

Another splash came from her left catching her attention, and she noticed the two soldiers carrying an array of effects, staring bug eyed at the water where the second splash had come from. It didn’t take Isabella long to figure out that the strange man had most likely jumped in after her sister, and hopefully he was a good swimmer.

She waited anxiously by the edge of the dock as she watched the surrounding water closely, hopeful to get any glimpse of her sister.

Isabella let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when the stranger emerged from the water with her sister, throwing the two of them up onto the docs. Isabella wasted no time in practically flinging herself on her sister who wasn’t breathing at any rate, “She’s not breathing,” She said, her mind seemingly freezing as she struggled to think of what to do while the two soldiers stood next to her, not knowing what to do themselves.

“Move,” The mysterious man ordered, practically pushing the two soldiers away to get to Elizabeth before pulling a small dagger out of nowhere and cutting Elizabeth’s corset in two, immediately making room for the breath she desperately needed.

Isabella pushed the wet strands of hair out of her sister’s face, finally realizing that a few tears had escaped her eyes without her even noticing, “You’re alright,” She whispered, holding Elizabeth’s face in her hands.

“Never would’ve thought of that,” One of the soldiers said, and Isabella could hear them speaking in the back of her mind.

It wasn’t until the dark haired man spoke up again did she realize how close she was kneeling next to him, “Clearly you’ve never been to Singapore,” He decided.

Isabella jerked her head to the side finding herself _very_ close to the dark haired stranger, but he didn’t seem to be thrown off by their close proximity as he offered her a sly grin, showing her his dirty teeth, “And _who_ are you?” He asked, tilting his head to the side in an amused sort of way.

Before she even had the chance to respond his eyes had drifted down to Elizabeth again and stayed there, “Where did you get that?” He breathed, reaching down as if to grab at her medallion.

Just as he was about to grab the trinket, Norrington had caught up to them, “On your feet,” He demanded as Isabella turned her attention back to Elizabeth and finally helped her to her feet just as their father caught up to them, Isabella just barely having enough time to shove the medallion back down underneath Elizabeth’s clothes, “Are you alright?” The governor urgently asked as he reached his two daughters but clearly doting on Elizabeth at the moment.

“Yes, I’m fine,” The blond assured, gathering the jacket a little more firmly around her shoulders.

Isabella was thankful to have her father to help Elizabeth at the moment because she found herself intrigued by the situation at hand, especially since Elizabeth’s savoir was being held at gunpoint far before James’ declaration of ‘shoot him,’ to which the two sisters immediately protested.

“What?” Isabella seethed, considering this man had just saved the Commodore’s most likely fiance, he might as well offer the man something other than death, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Father,” Elizabeth protested, louder than Isabella, “Commodore, do you really intend to kill my rescuer?” She demanded, clearly appealing to his affection for her.

James looked thoughtful, “I believe thanks are in order,” He decided, offering a hand towards the man, which he accepted, only to have James pull him closer as he pushed his sleeve up, revealing a ‘P’ branded into the _pirate’s_ arm, “Had a brush with the East India Trading Company?” James asked, sounding very prestigious.

Isabella heard her father gulp as she moved to get a better look at the pirate, “Hang him,” He ordered.

“Gillette, fetch some irons,” James ordered, signaling for his men to keep their guns trained on the pirate while he pushed his sleeve further up, “Well, well, Jack Sparrow isn’t it?” He asked, contemplating the tattoo.

Isabella couldn’t help but to gasp at his name, she _knew_ him, or she felt like she knew him, she and Elizabeth had read as many stories about him as they possibly could, it felt surreal. Sure she had always fantasized about meeting a pirate, but she never thought it would come true, this was too much for their small port to handle!

“Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please,” He frowned, shrugging his shoulders.

James clearly enjoyed tempting the pirate, “Well, I don’t see your ship, captain,” He mocked.

“I’m in the market as it were,” Captain Jack Sparrow shot back quickly, acting like he wasn’t even phased by what was going on, and Isabella couldn’t help but wonder if he really wasn’t phased.

Suddenly the two soldiers who were helpless in Elizabeth’s predicament spoke up, “He said he’d come to commandeer one,” The larger of the two piped up while the other one fiddled with the Pirate’s effects.

“Told ya he was telling the truth, these are his, sir!” He offered, showing him The Pirate’s weapons.

Finally Isabella thought like she had to say something, “Commodore,” She insisted, moving towards James and further away from her father who protested with a stern ‘Isabella,’ “I insist you let this man go, he was the only one that made any move to save my sister, despite the fact that he was with two of your men when this happened and may I point out that neither of them could do anything to help her,” She said.

James shot her a look over his shoulder, turning to face the man who was carrying Captain Sparrow’s effects, “Let me see those,” He demanded, “No additional shots or powder, a compass that doesn’t point north, and I half expected this to be made of wood, you are without a doubt the worst pirate I’ve ever heard of!” The Commodore mocked.

She was fuming at being ignored, and would’ve liked to say more but she knew it would’ve been pointless to try and convince these men of anything!

“But you have heard of me,” The pirate grinned as he was pulled to the side to get put in his irons.

Just then Elizabeth stepped up in front of James, leaving Isabella to follow after her, the two of them getting in the middle of James and Captain Sparrow, not that they made a very good barrier, but if Isabella’s attempt to keep the man safe was anything to go off of, she doubted Elizabeth had much of a chance at it either, her only hope was the fact that James was smitten with her.

“Commodore, I really must protest,” Elizabeth spoke up, “Pirate or not this man saved my life!”

Isabella really found herself of the freedom in movement Elizabeth had at the moment, since her dress was at the bottom of the ocean and her corset had been cut open completely, but she was still dolled up head to toe, not giving her much room to move, and leaving her to mainly rely on Elizabeth’s attempt to save the man.

“One good deed is not enough to redeem a man from a lifetime of wickedness,” James argued.

She frowned, not seeing the logic in what the Commodore was saying as she looked back at the Pirate, struggling in his irons, “But it seems enough to condemn him?” She asked, turning back to face the crowd.

“I was thinking the same thing, luv,” The Pirate commented, earning a sign from the women, he was not helping his case in any way!

James raised an eyebrow, his hand reaching out to pull Elizabeth to him with a hand on her shoulder, “Indeed,” He commented, almost thoughtfully.

“Finally!” Isabella heard Captain Sparrow’s exclamation of joy from behind her and she almost turned to face him if it weren’t for her vision being obscured for a moment as two heavy arms went around her, and a thick chain of iron fell across her neck, pulling her backwards into a firm body.

The doc seemed to explode with movement as the men that had their guns trained on the pirate bristled, not quite knowing what to do, Elizabeth made to move towards Isabella, but was stopped by James’ strong grip on her shoulder, and even her father moved forwards, but only to stop the gunmen, “No,” He ordered, worriedly, “Don’t shoot!”

“I knew _you’d_ warm up to me,” The pirate breathed in her ear, the stubble on his cheek tickling the side of her face. She wanted to move away, but feared he would easily be able to kill her in the position that the two of them were in, so she chose to freeze instead, but she was sure the look on her face was a sight to see, “Commodore Norrington, my effects please, and my hat,” Captain Sparrow demanded, roughly pulling Isabella closer to him when James didn’t make any move to give him his things back, “Commodore!” He warned.

James hesitantly passed his things over to Isabella’s waiting arms, and the pirate was quick to snatch the gun from her hands, bringing it up to the back of her skull. She felt herself falter at the feeling of cold metal being pressed against the base of her skull, but she forced herself to wait for him to speak, not knowing what to do in this strange situation. When he started speaking again his lips were brushing against her ear now, sending shivers down her spine, “Isabella? Izzy, Bella? It is Isabella, right?” He asked, his attention apparently solely focused on her at the moment.

She felt her breath catch in her throat, but she wasn’t about to let this pirate disrespect her if she could help it, “It’s Ms. Swann,” She insisted through grit teeth.

His breath hit her bare neck in what she could assume was silent laughter, “Ms. Swann, if you’d be so kind,” He appeased, spinning her around so she was face to face with him, before she knew what was happening, his hands slid down and pulled taught on the chain, instantly forcing the two of them closer together so she was pressed tightly up against the front of him, his gun now digging into her back, “Come, come dear, we don’t have all day, now, if you’d be very kind,” He grinned, lecherously at her first before his eyes wandered over to the crowd behind them, clearly putting on a show for all interested parties.

Angrily, and as quickly as she possibly could to get away from the dangerous man as quickly as possible, she hoped, she jammed the gun into the holster around his hips before reaching up and wrapping his belt loosely around him so she could reach up and jam his hat on top of his dreads before she reached around his back in a strange embrace to tighten his belts, which she was sure he was enjoying immensely. She couldn’t pull back fast enough once she’d tied the belt around his back, reaching down between them in what little space there was to actually do that to finish tightening the belt. As soon as she’d finished, he jerked slightly, the chain moving further up across her back and pressing her against him once more, forcing her to catch herself by placing her hands on his chest, “Easy on the goods, darling,” He mocked, knowing very well she was nowhere close to his… ‘goods.’

“You’re despicable,” She spat, wanting him to feel the hatred she had for him in the moment.

It took her a moment to realize that his iron around her back had been replaced by his warm hands on her waist, holding her in place, “Sticks and stones, luv, I saved your friend’s life, you save mine, we’re square,” He decided, a wicked grin on his face, “Oh, and you should think about getting a different dress, this one doesn’t bode well this close to shore,” He mockingly warned her, and before she could even respond, he was spinning her back around, the iron chain moving back to her neck as he stalked backwards away from their audience.

“Gentlemen,” He nearly shouted, thankfully having moved his head away from her face before he shouted, but it didn’t take him long to return to her ear, “M’lady,” he whispered huskily, his voice going straight to her core, “You will always remember this as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!” Jack announced heroically, and in the next instance, he’d pulled the chain up from around Isabella’s neck and shoved her forwards into Norrington’s waiting arms.

She gasped as she regained her footing, looking up just in time to see Jack soaring through the air, “Now can we shoot him?” Her father demanded, gathering her to his chest as Norrington practically did the same thing with Elizabeth, clearly he had proposed to her, as this wouldn’t be exactly proper if the two of them weren’t engaged, but she didn’t focus on that for too much longer, James had just ordered his men to chase after Captain Sparrow, leaving the Swann’s to themselves once more.

Once their father had made sure the two of them were still in one piece after their ‘traumatic’ experience as he claimed it to be, he called for a carriage to pick the two of them up while he went to find Norrington, most likely to talk about what to do with the Pirate if they found him, or even more likely to talk about the engagement between Elizabeth and James.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Isabella asked once the two of them were alone in the carriage heading back towards their home.

Elizabeth laughed, the smile she wore hadn’t left her face since their father had left the two of them to their own, “Drowning is nothing, I’m out of my blasted corset at the least, but being held hostage by a pirate, not just any pirate, how are you?” She asked, almost too eagerly.

Isabella couldn’t help but crack a smile of her own, “Oh it wasn’t as romantic as you’re making it out to be, frankly he _smelled,_ ” She confessed, wrinkling her nose at the thought before letting out another laugh of her own, “Suppose it wasn’t the worst though, I’d prefer being held captive to _drowning!_ How did it even happen?” She decided to change the subject, not wanting to talk about herself in that minute, especially not her strange encounter with the odd pirate.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “It all happened so fast, James had wanted to talk to me,” She said pointedly, “And I passed out.” 

Isabella almost laughed, it was pretty ridiculous, “So he didn’t even propose, you two aren’t engaged?” She asked, finding that to be the craziest part of the story.

Her older sister laughed, “I think he did, and _that’s_ when I fell off the roof!” She declared.

Just then the two of them reached their house and they were escorted out of the carriage and led inside. Elizabeth’s chambermaids quickly led her towards a warm bath they had drawn, worried for her health after being thrown around so much today, and afterwards, Isabella was given the same treatment. After the drawn baths, their father had sent word to their butler to tell them that the Captain had been apprehended and captured and was locked up now, to be hung in two days time. Isabella was the first to find out the news, deciding to head to her room afterwards and get ready for bed with the help of her handmaids.

“It must have been dreadfully frightening to be caught by a pirate,” Shannon spoke, her eyes wide with fear once she’d heard what happened to Isabella.

The younger women quirked an eyebrow, “Oh yes, dreadfully,” She muttered, wishing she could be more present in the forward conversation her maids were willing to partake in for once, but there was too much to think about at the moment, she’d much prefer to be on her own for the time being but she was not going to get that unless she went to bed.

Maryann was doting on Isabella’s bed, making sure it was perfectly set before Isabella walked over to sit atop the covers, “I think I’m rather tired from today’s events, if you would?” She asked, hoping they would catch the hint and leave her to herself for a little while.

Thankfully they did, and with one last sweep of the room the two of them had left just as the sun was setting. Isabella, on the other hand, knew she wasn’t going to be able to get to sleep anytime soon due to her racing thoughts. Captain Sparrow had been captured, and while she wasn’t happy with his treatment of her, he had saved her sister, sticks and stones, like he said, it was only fair…

As quickly as she could she threw a dressing robe around her shoulders with a hood big enough to cover her familiar red hair and threw on a pair of dark slip on shoes. Sneaking out of the house was no big deal, but she figured it would be much harder to sneak into the jail, one problem at a time though, was her mindset right now, and she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to try her hardest to at least speak with the Pirate once more.

Silently, Isabella climbed downstairs and slipped right out of the front door, throwing her hood up over her head before slipping out of the main gates around their home and heading into the town, she knew that it was likely she would be recognized so she was careful to keep herself under the cover of her clothing best she could until she reached the jail. The good thing was at this time at night there wasn’t many people out and about, making her trek really easy until she actually reached the jail. Thankfully there was only one guard at the entrance, and she was pretty sure that she wouldn’t come across anyone except for prisoners once she got inside, but the problem was getting inside!

She crouched behind several barrels that were stacked atop one another while she tried to figure out the best way to get herself inside, finally deciding to go with the oldest trick in the book. Looking around on the ground next to her, Isabella was able to find a large rock and without putting much thought into it, she wrenched her arm backwards and chucked it as hard as she could next to the guard hoping to catch his attention. Thankfully, it worked out better than she could’ve ever hoped, and next thing she knew she was running towards the door the guard abandoned so she could sneak inside.

Isabella had never been inside of the jail in their small port, there was no reason for her to be, so she wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but she found herself surprised by how simple the setup was, it wasn’t anything extravagant, just a bunch of dirty walls and rusty cell doors, but the floor she was on was empty, so she found herself venturing down a set of stairs she came across.

Walking down the stairs her heart started to race, why was she here? This was a very impulsive thing for her to do, no one she knew was impulsive, she was supposed to go by the book and do what she was told to do, but here she was, going to talk to a pirate who was jailed up! At the bottom of the stairs she was suddenly able to see a dark silhouette in a cell all by themselves, there were several other prisoners down on this level, too, but they all seemed to be occupied by a small dog with a ring of keys held in his muzzle, something she almost laughed at.

She stayed quiet behind the nearest wall, just barely peeking out from behind it in hopes at getting a good look around to find where the Captain was before she threw herself out into the view of all these prisoners. The cell with the men begging for the dog’s attention didn’t seem to hold Captain Sparrow, none of them resembled him in the slightest, but the cell next to theirs looked like it held someone familiar. Even though he was sitting in the shadows, Isabella found the silhouette to be very familiar, he looked thin but muscular, and his hair was definitely long, and his boots, which where visible in the moonlight seemed to have the same sort of piratey look as the rest of him did earlier. It didn’t take Isabella long to decide that this was Captain Sparrow.

But on the other hand, she was finally faced with the most challenging part of this, deciding what she was going to say to him. Due to the impulsivity of the situation, she didn’t really have much time to think about what she was going to say to him, but she knew that she made it this far, she wasn’t going to try to sneak out of here without saying anything to him!

Before she could give herself the chance to overthink she forced herself to step out of the stairwell and reveal herself to the criminals in their cells. Immediately the three men that were pining after the dog turned their attentions to her, shouting nonsense towards her in hopes that she would release them from their cell, and she was thankful her hood was still up and they couldn’t see what she actually looked like, but her attention was on the Captain.

He’d clearly noticed her when she decided to reveal himself, he looked much more alert than he had moments ago when he was lounging against the back of his cell wall, and now that she was closer she could make out his face.

The other men realized that she was clearly _not_ going to help them out so they went back to trying to get the dog to come to them, occasionally calling for her too, but really giving her a chance to speak with Captain Sparrow.

“Pirate,” Isabella greeted, pulling her clothes tighter around her body in hopes that he might not recognize her yet.

That didn’t seem to work as well as she thought it would though because in the next second he had righted himself almost entirely, pulling himself that much closer to the bars of his cell, recognition clear across his face, “Couldn’t get enough of me the first time, luv?” He asked, a grin stretched across his features.

She frowned, this wasn’t starting on her terms like she thought it would, clearly the pirate was more perceptive than she would’ve thought, “The opposite, actually,” She snapped, not being able to stop herself, she didn’t want any reason to make him upset, but if someone was pushing her buttons it was hard for her to _not_ respond, “Sticks and Stones, a guilty conscience if you will,” She lied, hoping he wouldn’t notice her brief hesitation. To be honest she really didn’t have any clue why she came down here, she just felt like she had to, maybe it was a guilty conscience… or maybe it was curiosity, something she couldn’t explain.

He let out a small laugh, leaning backwards again, “And how do _you_ plan to fix that?” He seemed to mock, “Are ye here to break me out?”

Her mouth fell open, maybe this wasn’t the best lie to spin to him, but it was better than avoiding him at all costs, he could at least let her apologize or _something_ , but she had to remember she was speaking with a pirate!

Before she could give a snarky response of her own, her heart stopped at the sound of gunshots. Immediately Captain Sparrow was on his feet, and looking out the barred window he had access to, “I know those guns,” He muttered, “It’s the Black Pearl!”

Isabella could barely hear what he was saying, she was more focused on the gunshots and why they would be going, but when she heard ‘Black Pearl’ she knew something was going on. There was no reason a notorious Pirate Ship should be here, especially a pirate ship known for not being seen! She didn’t know _what_ was going on.

The other prisoners were clearly just as intrigued by what was going on as the Captain and herself were, “The black pearl?” One of them asked, “ I’ve heard stories, she’s been praying on settlements for ten years! Never leaves any survivors,” He finished, sounding very spooked.

The Captain turned towards his neighbors before looking almost excitedly back outside his small window, “No survivors?” He asked, “Then where do the stories come from, I wonder,” Clearly he had to know something about this ship the way his eyes were glued to the scene from what Isabella could see.

Just as Isabella was about to ask what was going on, she watched as the Pirate jumped backwards in his cell, and in the next second, there was a huge explosion! Isabella threw herself against the back wall as far away from the explosion that she could get, turning around once she felt it was safe to notice the three men were just leaving their cell!

His dark eyes turned back towards her, “Sticks for stones, luv,” He repeated, “How about you go get those keys over there and let ol’ Jackie out of his cell, eh?” The pirate bargained, throwing her a toothy grin in what she assumed was his attempt to be charming.

She narrowed her eyes at him, “I don’t think so, pirate, what’s going on?” Isabella demanded, unsure if she should leave immediately or at least try to get some information out of him.

Captain Sparrow opened his mouth to respond, but just then there was a loud clang from the stairwell Isabella had just come from and his attention was diverted once more.

“Hello?” Isabella asked again, waving her hand in his direction to get his attention once more.

Once his dark brown eyes fell on her again she could see a sense of urgency was hidden there, and for some reason she felt compelled to listen to whatever he was going to say to her next, “Hide,” Was the near whisper that came out of his mouth.

She immediately made to move, to find someplace to hide and only realized she didn’t have much time when a guard came tumbling down the stairwell, clearly passed out, and it was very obvious to her she didn’t want to meet that same fate… or worse. Without hesitating, Isabella threw herself down behind a pile of cargo boxes that were covered by a large tarp, hoping it would conceal her well enough.

The timing of her part was perfect because as soon as she settled herself down safely out of sight she found herself peeking out from behind the crates to watch two tall men come clamoring down the stairwell, kicking the soldier out of the way as they reached Captain Sparrow’s floor.

“This ain’t the armory,” One of them growled, looking around the small cells.

The other one was more focused on the Captain’s cell, “Well, well, well, look what we have here Twigg, Captain Jack Sparrow,” The pirate mocked, a disgusting grin on his face.

Twigg spat on the ground, “Last time I saw you, you were all alone on a godforsaken island, shrinking into the distance,” He laughed, “His fortunes aren’t improved much!” Twigg let out a laugh.

She watched as the Pirate’s eyes flickered over to her briefly, the other two men not noticing his change in focus for a brief moment, “Worry about your own fortunes, gentlemen. The deepest circle of hell is reserved for betrayers and mutineers,” The Captain sneered, clearly knowing how to get on their nerves because in the next second, the nameless one shot his arm though the bars, grabbing Captain Sparrow by the neck, and obscuring Isabella’s view of the two of them that she had before, at least she could still hear them, “So there is a curse, that’s interesting,” The Captain commented, but at what she couldn’t tell.

“You know nothing of hell,” The one grabbing him by the throat growled before throwing him to the ground and leaving the hallway, heading back upstairs.

Isabella couldn’t move, she could barely breathe, when she was being held captive by Captain Sparrow before she couldn’t say that she felt too nervous at any point, for some reason she felt like he wouldn’t hurt her, but these two men she had a very different feeling about, they could’ve easily killed her, or worse, so she was very thankful she was told to hide.

She wasn’t sure how long she should hide for, and she was thankful when he spoke up again, “You alright there, darling?” He asked, hanging calmly from the bars of his cell.

She took another minute to right herself, the hood falling from her head as she stood up from her hiding spot, “Yes, I am,” She announced, brushing herself off, not even noticing her hair had fallen down her back as she moved to head upstairs or at least get out of this jail now that she was even more confused as to what was going on.

“Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” The pirate warned, picking at the bars of his cell and looking almost disinterested.

She couldn’t help but to be curious as to what he was going to say, after all he did just save her from the unknown just now, “Do what?” She asked, hoping for some clarification.

He shrugged, “Who knows what’s out there plundering the streets, I think yer safest bet’s to stick with me,” He told her.

“I’m not so sure,” She confessed just as another explosion wracked the building the two of them were in.

Captain Sparrow immediately noticed her hesitation after the second explosion, “Come on luv, why don’t you just go grab those keys from the little dog and I’ll make sure you’re _nice_ and comfortable,” The pirate smirked, “Remember, sticks for stones,” He practically purred, “That’s what you came down here to do, right? Clear a guilty conscious?”

She could tell he was trying to bait her, but it wasn’t going to work, she had more important things to worry about now that there were pirates in the town, and sure she did feel bad that _this_ pirate wasn’t able to escape after saving her sister, but she had to be selfish for the moment, which wasn’t something she was used to doing, “That was before, this is now,” She commented, trying to appear like she didn’t care too much about what she had to do, even if she did.

“You sure about that, luv?” He continued, walking backwards into his cell and holding his arms out wide, “There’s plenty o’ room for the two of us in here,” He said with a dirty wink her way.

If he thought this was going to impress her he had another thing coming, clearly he wasn’t used to dealing with upstanding women, or maybe he was and this normally worked on them, which was a little upsetting for her to think about but she didn’t dwell on that thought for too long, “I don’t think so, Pirate,” She shot back, starting to find herself not too happy with his attitude, “I don’t think it’s very proper to speak to a woman like that,” She commented, finding herself stepping closer to the bars of the cell in a challenging way.

His eyes seemed to light up at this and before she knew what he was doing he was back up at the bars so the two of them were practically face to face once again, similar to the position the two of them were in that morning, “Wouldn’t be speaking this way if you didn’t _like_ it,” He breathed, the corners of his mouth turning up in a grin.

She was about to shoot back a quick reply, and she would’ve if she hadn’t noticed his hand sneaking through the bars looking like it was going to grab her around the waist again. Quickly, Isabella moved to slap his hand away, but before she had the chance to jump back, his other hand had moved faster than she thought possible and wrapped around her other arm, keeping her as close to the bars as she was a second ago, “Get your hands off of me,” She demanded, trying to rip her arm free of his grip, to no avail of course.

The Pirate didn’t speak until her struggling stopped slightly and she was looking up at him again, “Wouldn’t have my hands on you if you didn’t like it,” He repeated, this time staring down at her under hooded eyes, pulling her that much closer to him by the arm he had trapped in his grasp.

Without thinking, Isabella’s free hand shot through the bars and slapped him right across the face, causing him to step back in what looked like shock as he let go of her other wrist before he broke out in a grin, clearly amused with her, “Still waiting for your answer, luv, gonna go get those keys for me?” He asked, like he wasn’t even phased by her slap.

She threw him a disinterested look over her shoulder, she knew he was teasing her and he really wanted her to get the keys to aid in his escape, but she was not about to get stuck down in this jail if she could help it, and frankly after that she wasn’t too happy with him, maybe she had the wrong idea of him when she first decided to come down here to talk to him, “I can’t… pirate,” She added, as a reminder to herself. Then she was skirting back upstairs as quickly as possible.

“Call me, Jack, luv!” He called out to her as she was leaving but she ignored him, ready to run back to her home as quickly as possible hoping that she’d be able to get back without getting in the middle of whatever fighting could’ve been going on outside of the jail.

She reached the original hallway she’d come through and could see the door swinging from where the two pirates must’ve broken in before and with a sigh she started to head for the exit, happy to be out of trouble… or she hoped. But before she could even get close to the doors though, there was another explosion, this much closer to where she was standing, and just as she went to duck for cover there was another loud noise and just as she turned her head she felt something smack her _hard_ across the temple and then everything was black.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Her head was absolutely pounding when she opened her eyes.

She was laying on a hard dirt flood, and she couldn’t quite remember how she got here, but she remembered what had happened earlier, she knew she had been talking to Jack, and she was sure she was still stuck in the jail, but she didn’t know what had happened to her.

Slowly pushing herself to her feet she realized how much her head was pounding at that point, but she needed to get to some fresh air before she could attempt to patch herself up since she couldn’t see if she’d been scratched up in any way.

She walked carefully towards the exit, not wanting to hurt herself in case there was any real damage done to her, and she was overjoyed when she reached the outside of the jail, finding no guards there to make her exit easy and one that she didn’t have to think too hard about.

But once she reached outside a part of her wished she was still back in the jail with the pirate- Jack, even, which one of the last things she wanted to do! Scattered across the beach in front of her were too many bodies, more bodies than she’d seen in her short life, and she wasn’t even sure if what she was seeing was real! Pushing down some bile she felt threatening to rise in her throat she gathered herself up and moved forwards, hoping to find a familiar face since time had clearly passed now that the sun was rising, she’d somehow managed to sleep through the night in the jail without anyone noticing, apparently the conditions out here were worse than she’d suspected when she attempted to leave last night.

Isabella was quickly able to make it into town, hoping that would be the quickest way to get back to her sister and father if he’d made it back last night amongst all the commotion, but before she could get even close to her home she ran into a familiar figure.

“Will,” Isabella called, running up to the man who seemed sorely disgruntled.

His dark eyes looked around for a second before they landed on her, his mouth falling open in shock, “Isabella?” He asked, looking confused, “What are you- how are you here?” He demanded, immediately pulling her to him in an act of affection that he normally wouldn’t have shown her in public.

“What do you mean?” She asked, pulling away from him due to her own confusion.

He held her tightly by her shoulders, “I thought you and Elizabeth-” He cleared his throat, starting over, “What happened to you last night?” He asked, urgently.

She frowned, “I don’t understand, I- I’m not really sure,” She confessed to him.

Will looked over his shoulder briefly before grabbing her by the hand and pulling her along behind him until the two of them reached his blacksmith workshop where his boss was bound to be passed out drunk, “What’s going on?” Isabella demanded once the two of them were safely inside.

“How did you avoid the pirates last night? We thought you’d been kidnapped,” He explained quickly.

She shook her head, her headache still pounding slightly under the duress of what was going on at the moment, “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Will, I didn’t even know this was this serious, I just saw all the… bodies,” She hesitated, rubbing at her head which was throbbing now.

He pulled her hand away, “Let’s get you fixed up first, and I’ll explain,” He told her, observing her head for a moment before running to go grab some supplies for her head.

When Will returned, Isabella was just as confused as she was when he had left her, and he quickly set to work patching up her head with an old bandana he had pulled out of a cabinet, which she was thankful for because it held back her long red hair well enough for the time being and then he thankfully decided to start explaining to her what had happened.

“Last night Port Royal was raided by pirates, I was trying to help in the town, people were being attacked and couldn’t do anything about it, and just before I was knocked out I saw… your sister, she was being taken by pirates, and I assumed you were with her, no one’s heard from you since last night, even the maid’s in your household said that they hadn’t seen you,” He explained all very quickly.

But Isabella was caught up on one fact, somehow her sister had been kidnapped by pirates, and she was sure she would’ve suffered the same fate if she’d been in her home, they’d most likely gone after Elizabeth because she was the governor’s daughter, and had Isabella been there as well… at least she would’ve been with her sister now, but she had to go off gallivanting with pirates!

“Elizabeth’s been kidnapped?” Isabella immediately demanded, throwing herself off the chair she’d been sat on while Will worked on her apparent injury in a rage that she wasn’t with her sister right now, “Is James doing anything, what about my father?” She demanded, pacing almost obsessively.

Her and Elizabeth were almost inseparable, and despite the fact she was younger than her older sister, she would do anything for her and go to the ends of the world to protect her, like she knew Elizabeth would do for her, but here she was, stuck in Port Royal when who know what was happening to Elizabeth.

Thankfully, Will seemed to be as upset about this as she was, “They don’t know where to start, they aren’t _doing_ anything,” He groaned, clearly upset, “How did you not get caught?” He asked, quickly changing the subject.

She frowned, not sure if she wanted to tell Will about her nighttime visit to the jail, but it seemed like she had no other choice, “Last night before the raid, I had heard about Jack Sparrow’s capture, and I needed to go see for myself,” She explained slowly, not wanting Will to be upset at her but not knowing how she could explain this to him and have him understand why she did it when she didn’t even know herself.

His eyes flashed dangerously at her before he took a deep breath in through his nose, “I’m surprised you would do such a thing, but I suppose it kept you safe in a way. Do you know where he’s being held? I need to speak to him,” He asked, leaving Isabella thankful that he’d moved on so quickly.

She nodded, “Yes, I could take you to him,” She offered, already having a feeling she knew what Will was planning. She liked to think she knew the man well enough to have some idea as to what went on in his head, and she was sure he was going to go after her sister, and she’d be damned if she didn’t go with him. If she wasn’t able to be there for Elizabeth last night she sure as hell was going to try to be there for her now, even if it meant asking for help from a pirate who’d disrespected her more than once at this point.

Will nodded, not catching on to what she was insinuating, “Let’s get you to your father first, I’m sure he’d want to know you’re safe,” He offered, running a hand through his dark hair.

Isabella wrinkled her nose, “I don’t think so Mr. Turner, you said my father isn’t doing much to look for me and my sister, so maybe having both his daughters gone will be more incentive for him to pick up the pace if _we_ can’t do anything about it. I know you’re going to the pirate for help, and I’m coming, for my sister,” She said, hoping he wouldn’t put too much of a fight into her not coming with, because she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Isabella I insist, I don’t think it’s safe for you to be in the company of a pirate, let alone that one, he’s vile and won’t let anything get in his way,” He tried to deter, but she wasn’t hearing it.

“I’ve dealt with the man twice now, and one time I was being held hostage, I can hold my own Will, and I refuse to leave my sister if there’s something I can do about it,” Isabella insisted, hoping he wouldn’t try to stop her again, “Now, would you be so kind as to let me borrow some trousers, I don’t think breaking a pirate out of jail will work if I’m in a dress, do you?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest in the process.

Will looked like he was at a stand still, not quite sure what to do, but after he grumbled something under his breath he went over to a set of drawers and grabbed her some trousers and an old shirt, hopefully ones that would fit well enough on her, “Thank you,” Isabella said, gracefully as she went into another room to get changed quickly before the two of them were to set off to free a notorious pirate.

The clothes fit rather well, she was guessing they didn’t fit that well on him because they were almost perfect for her and he was much larger than she was. The trousers were slightly baggy but she could deal with that, as long as the belt she’d tied around her waist stayed in place she figured she’d be able to deal with them for the time being. Before she left the second room, she spotted her reflection and the red bandana that Will had used to patch up her head for the time being. She decided to take matters in her own hands and without thinking about it she tied the bandana so it hid much more of her hair underneath it before fixing it back around her head and the small cut she sported, hoping no one would recognize her while they were going through with Will’s plan.

When she rejoined the man, he gave a brief nod at her appearance, “I don’t think anyone will recognize you dressed like that,” He commented before leaving the room, most likely assuming she would follow him, and Isabella had to agree, she didn’t think most people would recognize her, but she knew one man that would, and they were on their way to go spring him from jail.

Luckily when they reached the cells, there was still no guard posted, she assumed the one that had been knocked out had woken up at some point after her and had hopefully left, she would hate to have to see Will knock him out again. Once they were inside it was pretty easy to find Jack again, since he seemed to be the only prisoner that hadn’t been set free the previous night.

Isabella let Will go first, if anyone was likely to turn up he’d be able to deal with them much easier than she would’ve been able to, and it just made sense, this was his plan, he was going to be the one to talk to Jack, she’d had her chance last night and it didn’t go so well, maybe he’d respond better to a man, not that she considered that to be a good reason to take someone seriously but she was used to it, sadly.

When the two of them reached the cell that the pirate was in, Isabella decided to hang back before she spoke, just wanting to hear what Will had to say to him and not have their altercation from the night before change Jack’s feeling for helping Will. Thankfully her disguise worked well enough that for the time being if she kept her face covered and didn’t speak he likely wouldn’t know it was her, he’d probably just assume she was Will’s lacky or something of the sorts.

“You, Sparrow!” Will demanded, immediately moving to Jack’s cell, which Isabella had to stifle a laugh at when she noticed a dog bone stuck in the keyhole, clearly he was upset he was the only one to not escape last night.

He was lying down on the ground, looking rather uninterested in whoever was calling his name, “Aye,” He mumbled, throwing his hands behind his head to give the appearance that he was lounging and _enjoying_ his cell, which obviously wasn’t true but Isabella did have to give his showmanship credit, he could really play something up if he wanted to.

“Are you familiar with that ship?” Will demanded, getting straight to the point, which Isabella appreciated considering they had no time to lose, “The Black Pearl?”

Jack shrugged, “I’ve heard of it,” Clearly he wasn’t going to make this easy for Will and it was taking all Isabella had to not jump in and speak up, but she stopped herself for now.

“Where does it make berth?” He demanded, maybe he was onto something, if the pirate would just tell them where to go then they wouldn’t have to break him out of jail.

She should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy though, “Where does it make _berth_? Have you not heard the stories?” He demanded, with a roll of his eyes, “Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants sail from the Dreaded Isla De Muerta, an island that cannot be found except by those who know where it is,” Jack confessed, making it much trickier for them to figure out what to do next, luckily Will was the one speaking with him.

“The ship’s real though, therefore it’s anchorage must be a real place, where is it?” He deduced and demanded, thinking that the pirate Captain would give away information without getting something for himself, which was something Isabella was quick to figure out about the man.

Jack sat up a little bit, studying his nails and barely looking at the two of them, “Why ask me?” He continued, really trying to get something out of it from Will, who seemed to be pretty clueless as to what the Pirate was doing.

“Because you’re a pirate!” Will argued.

Jack cocked his head to the side, “And you and your errand boy,” He added gesturing towards where Isabella was standing off to the side, “want to become pirates yourselves, is that it?” He asked.

Will took a step forwards towards the bars of the cell, “They took Miss. Swann,” He demanded.

Jack’s head shot towards Will, “Oh so you’ve found a girl, which Miss Swann, the wet one or the pretty one?” He asked to a confused Will, “Nevermind, Well if you’re intending to brave all, hasten to her rescue and so win fair lady’s heart you’ll have to do it alone, mate, I see no profit in it for _me_ ,” At least now he was outright telling Will to break him out of prison, but Isabella was still a little caught up on the fact he thought she could’ve been the one Will was vying for, that would’ve been a strange match.

Before she knew what she was doing she was taking a step forward so she was next to Will and her face was a little more visible, “He can get you out,” She confessed, revealing herself to the pirate and pointing towards Will as she spoke.

His eyes lit up as soon as she spoke and he turned to face her, understanding flashing through his eyes, “Oh it’s the wet one then,” He muttered to himself, “How are you going to do that, the key’s run off?” He asked, turning his attention back to Will who seemed a little shocked that he was going to break a pirate out of jail but Isabella saw no other way if they wanted Elizabeth back, they were going to have to do the unexpected.

“I helped build these cells,” Will spoke up, running a hand along the bars, “These are half pin-barrel hinges, with the right leverage and the proper application of strength the door will lift free,” He explained as he lifted a bench top and wedged it under one of the cell bars.

Captain Sparrow looked _almost_ impressed, “What’s your name?” He asked from where he was still lounging on the ground of his cell.

“Will Turner,” He introduced.

Isabella watched as something akin to excitement flashed in the pirate’s all telling eyes before he pushed it back down, “That will be short for William, I imagine, good strong name,” Jack said, testing the waters, “No doubt named for your father, eh?” He asked, sending a knowing look towards Will when he nodded in response, “Well, Mr. Turner, I’ve changed me mind,” Captain Sparrow was on his feet in seconds, “If you spring me from this cell I swear on pain of death I shall take you both to the Black Pearl and your bonny lass- sister, do we have an accord?” He asked, extending his hand to Will.

He hesitated just a moment before reaching through the bars to give Jack a firm handshake, “Agreed,” He decided before pulling his hand away.

In the next second he was looking at her, his hand reaching to grab hers in agreement as well, “Agreed,” Isabella decided, giving him a shake as well before quickly pulling her hand away from him, which he definitely noticed her fervor to do so, she had to be more selective in her battles around him she realized.

“Agreed,” Jack finished, “Get me out!”

Will wasted no time in pushing down hard on the bench and setting the Captain free with a loud clang from the iron cell which the two men worked together to move to the side, “Let’s hurry, someone may have heard that,” Will urged.

Jack looked thrilled to be free as he reached around Isabella for something on the wall behind her, “Not without my effects, remember these?” He asked with a grin as she groaned in response and pushed past Will so she wouldn’t have to be next to the pirate for longer than necessary.

Once again getting out of the jail didn’t take very long since the guards were most likely busy doing other things rather than dealing with the _one_ prisoner they had at the moment, but it wouldn’t be good for them when they realized that Jack had escaped! Isabella led the three of them from the jail to the beach where there was much less coverage for the three of them, her and Will would be fine walking about, but Jack stuck out like a sore thumb in the Port, they had to figure out the best way to get them out of here, and that’s where the pirate came in handy.

“Any ideas?” Isabella asked back to the two men once the three of them were safely concealed under a stone bridge.

“Let’s commandeer a ship,” Jack suggested, almost making Isabella roll her eyes, they were three people, not exactly going to be very good at piloting a full sized ship.

“We’re going to steal a ship?” Will clarified, “That ship?” He noticed Jack’s stare was fixed on the Dauntless and Isabella recognized it as the ship she’d seen him on the other day.

“Commandeer,” He clarified, “We’re going to commandeer that ship, nautical term,” He decided, Isabella moved to get a better look but she was pulled backwards by a calloused hand, “One question about your business, or there’s no use going; this girl, how far are you willing to go to save her?” He demanded.

Will’s dark eyes fixed on Jack in all seriousness, “I’d die for her,” He confessed before the two of them looked to Isabella who had just managed to shove the pirate’s hand off of her.

“Me as well,” She agreed, a fierce look in her eyes.

Jack nodded, looking pleased, “Oh good, no worries then,” He decided his eyes scanning the beach for anything that could be used to help them, “We’re going to need a boat…” He mumbled.

“What?” Isabella asked, not being able to keep up with how quickly his mind seemed to work.

His eyes met hers before he was looking along the beach again, “That one,” He said, pointing towards a small dingy face down on the beach, leaving the other two of them confused.

“What for?” Will asked, looking just as confused as Isabella felt.

Jack rolled his eyes, “We need to _get_ to our ship first, the only way to do that without being seen is with _that_ ,” He explained, pointing towards the dingy, “William, you’re first, go get underneath,” He told him, giving him a quick shove with his hand so he wasn’t standing underneath the stone archway any longer.

Will shot him a glare before he started walking calmly towards the boat, looking around to make sure no one would notice him on the rather far walk towards the dingy and leaving Isabella with Jack for the time being, “How is this going to help?” She asked him, watching with narrowed eyes to make sure no one would spot Will, sure most people wouldn’t think much of it but still he was a Blacksmith, he had no reason to be down at the shore by himself, if the wrong person sees him it’ll look very suspicious.

“All in good time luv,” He said as he settled his warm hand down on her shoulder.

She moved subtly to shrug him off of her, “Are you going next?” She asked once she realized he wasn’t planning on moving his hand.

He grinned, showing her his teeth once more, “Ladies first,” He insisted, pushing her forward a little bit with the hand on her shoulder once he’d both noticed Will had made it safely underneath the boat.

She looked down at herself, “I don’t think so Captain Sparrow,” His eyes immediately shot towards her and his hand tightened almost undetectably on her shoulder, “I’m not a woman right now, and I insist you go first,” She said offering him a tight lipped smile.

He cocked his head to the side giving her a curious look for a moment, contemplating what he was going to do before he peeked his head out from behind the stone to make sure no one was coming and next thing she knew he was sprinting off towards the boat, leaving Isabella to watch his back. She was glad she made him go first, fearing that if both her and Will had been underneath the boat that he would’ve left them and used his newfound freedom in his own terms, but thankfully he scampered towards the boat as promised.

Jack was much faster than Will at scooting underneath the boat, he had to be if he didn’t want to be caught, and soon enough it was her turn. She casually walked across the beach until she was right up at the boat and as quickly as possible she lifted one side and scampered underneath.

From far away the boat looked much bigger than it actually was once three people were underneath it. Will was cramped in the back on his knees, his back hunched so he wouldn’t hit his head on the top of the boat, Jack was in the front crouching so his feet were on the sand but he was even more hunched than Will was and once she got in the only space for her was tightly pressed between the two men, but at least she didn’t have to hunch down as much as either man did, she was grateful she was shorter than them in this moment.

“Ready?” Jack asked after he took a quick peek out from underneath the boat to make sure the coast was clear.

Neither of them had a chance to respond before he was rising to his feet and pulling the boat forwards on his shoulders, forcing the two of them two do the same, before dropping back to the ground and doing the whole process over again. It didn’t take them long to reach the water and Isabella realized that they were going to pull this boat underwater with them and use the air bubble they were hopefully able to create to get them all the way over to the ship!

“Last trip,” Jack warned them and she knew they were going to have to get this boat underwater in one go or else their plan would be botched, the navy would notice if a boat was floating half above the water and would obviously do something about it.

The three of them were running into the water after that, avoiding waves to the best of their ability and when it was deep enough they were straining themselves to pull the boat underwater with their air still inside so they could make it there _alive_! It didn’t get easier the further underwater they got because while it was good to be short before once they were talking along the floor of the ocean, Isabella found it hard to keep up with the two taller men, often choosing to swim instead of walk since she couldn’t quite reach, but the two of them looked like they had their own problems, since from what she could see of the pirate in front of her, he was having a hard time holding onto the boat and a quick glance behind her showed her that Will was experiencing the same troubles.

“This is either madness or brilliance,” Will commented once they’d come up with a steady rhythm and were quickly marching along towards the Dauntless.

Jack looked back at the two of them, clearly pleased with his clever ploy, “It’s remarkable how often those two traits coincide,” He commented.

Just then Isabella found herself dipping a little bit too low underneath the water and she got an unexpected mouthful of water, leaving her to try and hack it up and swim at the same time, “Are you okay?” Will asked, not being able to do anything about it if he wanted to keep the boat down here and more importantly keep their air down here.

She nodded, “I’m fine, I’m just shorter than the both of you so it’s getting a little tricky to keep up,” Isabella confessed once she caught her breath.

“Feel free to hold on, luv,” Jack commented turning his head to face her, “Can’t have you dying yet,” He winked before turning back around to continue their walk forwards.

Isabella narrowed her eyes at his back, not that he was going to notice, but once she almost swallowed another mouthful of water she found herself hesitantly clutching onto the pirate’s shoulders to keep herself above water, not wanting to tire herself out already by just trying to tread water.

As soon as her hands were settled atop his shoulder he shot her an almost surprised look back at her that she was sure Will couldn’t see, apparently he wasn’t expecting her to actually take him up on his offer, but he didn’t say anything against it so that’s how she stayed until they actually reached the ship.

Jack made them travel to the other side of the ship before they stopped and found the anchor before he told them his plan, “On three we’re going to let the air out of the boat and follow the anchor to the surface, savvy?” He asked, giving each of them a quick look before he nodded, almost like he was realizing his plan would work.

The two of them agreed and he didn't even bother counting to three before he released his end of the boat, causing the air to escape and Will’s side to flip over and sink to the floor. Isabella barely had a chance to get a big gulp of air before the three of them were submerged underwater and she was lucky she was close enough to the chain of the anchor she was able to find it without opening her eyes and without wasting any time she swam up to the surface, happy to get a breath of fresh air for the first time in a couple minutes. Jack popped up next to her a second after she’d wiped the water from her eyes and Will as second after Jack and then all three of them were huddled around the chain of the anchor, waiting for Jack to tell them what they were going to do next.

He looked between the two of them for a moment before looking up at the ship, “Follow me,” He instructed, hoisting himself up on the chain and pulling himself up to the first level of the deck looking over the railing to see if they were following. Will let Isabella pull herself up first, telling her that if she needed a hand he’d be right behind her. It wasn’t easy to pull herself up the chain, and Jack had made it look so easy, but as soon as she reached the railing he was leaning over she felt her arms almost giving out and Jack reached over to pull her up and over the railing.

“Thank you,” Isabella said with as much humility as she possibly could, especially since she considered that to be a very embarrassing situation.

Then Will had joined them and Jack was admiring the walls of the boat where the cannons would’ve come out of before he looked down at Isabella once more, “I’m guessing you’re in this getup because you don’t want Daddy dearest to recognize you?” He hummed.

Isabella didn’t appreciate the condescending tone he was using but she nodded nonetheless, “Yes,” she confessed.

He turned back to the holes and used his fingernails to open one popping his head in as if to make sure the coast was clear before he turned back to her, “In you go, we’ll do the commandeering,” He told her.

Jack was holding the opening up for her and she realized it was going to be a tight fit, but it would be better than having to climb the anchor further up the ship so she was more than willing to listen to his instructions. Climbing up on a small ledge she shifted so she could slide her legs in first and then her upper body until she was fully in the ship.

“We’ll come get you in a mo’,” Jack told her before shutting the flap over her face once more.

She chose to use this time to inspect the ship, and it didn’t take long for Will to come down the stairs and call her above to where him and Jack had apparently actually been able to commandeer the ship. Jack was muttering things to himself as he set to work on the ship.

“How are the three of us supposed to get this boat up and running when a whole group of navy men know what you two are doing?” She demanded with a frown.

Jack grinned at her, “We won’t, we need to make sure this ship _won’t_ run,” He explained, “William, the ropes, if you please?” He asked, pointing towards some ropes hanging from the sails leaving Will to pull at them the best he could before Jack turned to her, “Luv, if you want to stay hidden I suggest you stay out of the way,” He informed her, giving her a little push towards where Will was messing with the ropes and she was quick to duck behind the hull so no incoming ships would see her.

“Here they come,” Will announced after a little while, joining Isabella in her hiding spot and Jack joined them soon after.

Jack was on her left and Will on her right, she found that in the past few hours with these men she spent most of the time sandwiched between the two of them, but it has been beneficial so far so most likely it would continue to be helpful to her, “See those ropes?” Jack asked, pointing to the ropes Will had been mindlessly throwing around as the pretended they were getting the ship ready to set sail, “On my signal we’re going to swing,” He instructed.

“There’s only two,” Isabella wasted no time in pointing out, she wasn’t planning on getting left behind and he’d do best to remember that!

His dark eyes narrowed in on her before he snaked an arm around her waist, “You’d better hold tight then,” He instructed, “Go!” Jack pulled her to her feet and made her her hands were securely wrapped around the rope before the two of them ran forwards and flung themselves off the Dauntless and onto the Interceptor.

Jack was quick to push her back down out of view as Will landed on deck and the two of them got the ship up and running, getting them quickly far away from Port Royal, the Dauntless quickly becoming a speck in the horizon.

Once she was sure she wouldn’t be spotted, Isabella joined Jack and Will at the helm of the boat, Will had settled himself down on the stairs and Isabella moved past him to watch Jack steer the ship with an air of professionalism she hadn’t seen from him yet.

The further away from Port Royal they got the more confident the three of them got that no one was coming after them which definitely helped Isabella’s nerves, and thankfully Will was more than eager to tell his life’s story to the pirate.

“When I was a lad living in England my mother raised me herself,” He divulged once Jack had brought up something about parentage, “After she died, I came out here looking for my father.”

Jack didn’t look very impressed with the story from where he stood at the helm, “Is that so?” He asked.

Will perked up a little bit at Jack’s disinterested tone, “My father, Will Turner, at the jail, it was only after you learned my name you agreed to help,” Will deduced, “Since that’s what I wanted I didn’t press the matter… I’m not a simpleton, Jack, you knew my father,” He accused, clearly wanting some answers since Jack was so keen to talk about his father.

Isabella quirked an eyebrow, she didn’t realize Will figured all that out, perhaps he was smarter than he looked, “I knew ‘im,” Jack confessed, “Probably one of the only people who knew him as William Turner, everyone else just called him Bootstrap, or Bootstrap Bill,” He explained to Will.

She looked between the two men, clearly tensions were high between them, they obviously weren’t each other’s biggest fans, but she was here with Will, she wasn’t so sure if she wanted her friend to find out about his father from a pirate, who knew what lies he’d spin.

“Bootstrap?” Will clarified.

Jack nodded, “Good man, good pirate, I swear you look just like him,” He said, glazing over the word pirate like it wouldn’t be a big deal to Will.

Isabella was shocked that Jack was calling Will’s father a pirate, so she couldn’t imagine how Will was feeling at the moment, “It’s not true,” He immediately answered, “He was a merchant sailor, a good respectable man who obeyed the law!”

Jack didn’t seem to take well to Will’s delusion though, “He was a bloody pirate, scallywag!” He spat, his eyes hard as he looked at the horizon.

Will was on his feet in an instant, sword in hand as he pointed it right at Jack’s face, “My father was not a pirate,” Isabella couldn’t help but gasp at this violent turn in events, she needed both of these men to work together to get her sister back, she wasn’t about to let either one of them hurt the other until this was over!

“Will!” She accused, getting to her feet and hoping to take him away for a second to give him some time to calm down, but Jack had released the wheel and was stepping towards Will, getting even closer to the sword in his face.

“Put it away son, not worth you getting beat again,” Jack warned, sticking his arm out to keep Isabella away from the fight that was brewing.

Will narrowed his eyes, “You didn’t beat me, you ignored the rules of our engagement,” He seethed, leaving Isabella to wonder when they had fought before, “In a fair fight, I’d killed you.”

Jack shrugged, turning back to the wheel, “That’s not much incentive for me to fight fair then, is it?” He asked and just as Isabella was about to push past the pirate to diffuse the tension she was grabbed by the waist and pulled to the ground just as Jack spun the wheel with his free hand, sending one of the sails soaring towards the three of them and catching Will in the gut sending him flying out over the water.

“Will!” Isabella cried again, trying to get to the wheel so she could bring him back on deck, but the strong hand around her waist wasn’t giving her much wiggle room, “Get off!” She demanded, reminding her of the night previous when she’d slapped him.

Jack shot her a dark look as he reached down to grab Will’s discarded sword and pulled Isabella in front of him, securing both her arms down so she couldn’t smack him like she wanted to while the sword pointed out towards Will, “Now as long as you’re just hanging there, pay attention,” He ordered, squeezing Isabella as he did so to make sure she knew this talk was for her as well, “The only rules that really matter are these; What a man can do and what a man can’t do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can’t. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you’ll have to square with that someday,” Jack paused, giving another sharp tug on Isabella when she started struggling again once she saw Will fighting to keep his grip, “Now me, for example, I can let you drown,” He ignored Isabella’s shout of protest, “And if I did that I’d have to do the same with your company, but I can’t bring this ship to Tortuga all by me onesy, savvy?” All at once, Jack was letting go of Isabella and swinging the sail back around so Will could land safely on the deck once more, “So, can you sail under the command of a pirate or can you not?” He asked, flipping the sword around with one hand before extending it to Will who was laying on the floor looking more than out of breath.

“Tortuga?” He asked, taking the sword in one hand.

Jack grinned, “Tortuga,” He agreed.

Isabella watched the weird exchange with wide eyes, she’d never seen a man flip around on his feelings as quickly as Will just did and she was honestly shocked he’d changed his mind about the man so quickly! At least she kept her wits about her and didn’t plan on being so friendly with the pirate anytime soon.

Will wasted no time after that in going below deck to do some inventory to make sure they had enough to get them to Tortuga and then hopefully have enough to keep a crew happy once they reached the town. Isabella would’ve gone downstairs to help him if it weren’t for Jack getting in her way as soon as she tried to follow Will down the stairs.

“Can I help you?” She asked as soon as he’d stepped in front of her.

She took a step back so there was some space between the two of them, not that it made her feel much better but it helped a little bit, “I’m not so sure you know what it means to sail under a pirate yet, luv,” He confessed with a cock of his head as he stared her down.

Isabella narrowed her eyes at him, “What do you mean?” She asked, still moving backwards since Jack had taken it upon himself to match her steps.

“I mean, Bella- luv,” he drawled out getting closer to her with ever step, “You never answered the question, can you sail under the command of a pirate?” He pressed.

She froze once she realized he had her practically pinned up against the rail of the boat, “I didn’t think that question was for me, pirate,” She countered, hoping it would get him away from her the faster she tried to appease him.

Clearly that wasn’t the answer he was looking for as his hands came down on either side of her, caging her in against the side of the deck, “I thought I told you to call me _Jack_ ,” He grinned, raising an eyebrow towards her.

Isabella didn’t quite know what to do in this situation, honestly she’d much rather be in Elizabeth’s position with a bunch of pirates rather than be with just this one, but here she was and she had to get herself out of it before anything happened that she couldn’t take back, “I don’t feel as though that’s appropriate _Captain Sparrow_ ,” She hissed, hoping the use of his title and his last name would be enough for him at the moment.

Instantly he backed up, maybe it was because of the respectful title she used for him, or maybe it was because of the flash of anger that she was sure he could see spark in her eyes, but he took a step back, looking pleased he was able to push her buttons. Hopefully this wasn’t something she was going to have to deal with for the rest of their time together, because frankly it was a little infuriating!

She wasn’t sure what it was about her that seemed to keep drawing the pirate back in, but from the short few hours they’d spent together she was sure she kept spotting him glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, and there had been all the touching too, it seemed like whenever a situation arose that he could make an excuse to put his hands on her he took it, but it was more infuriating that infatuating as it would’ve been with anyone but a pirate! Frankly, she couldn’t help but to be wary of him, he was a pirate, but he’d been good to the two of them so far, minus all the teasing she endured and when he nearly threw Will off the ship, but he didn’t exactly seem trustworthy to her, she’d just have to see for herself how he acted when they really needed his help, hopefully he wouldn’t betray them so easily.

Despite her wariness for the man, though, she couldn’t help but to feel curious about Jack, there was something about him that was different from the stories she’d read, something you couldn’t quite capture in words. He was quite the charmer, the only reason she hadn’t fallen victim to his charms was because before they’d even started this little venture of theirs she’d promised herself she wouldn’t make friends with any pirates, she was only here for her sister, and once they got her back, they’d go back to Port Royal and things would return to normal… Hopefully she’d be able to keep true to her word with the notorious pirate who seemed to be on top of her every time she turned around! He was interesting, she couldn’t deny it, but she could avoid thinking about how interesting he was to keep herself uninterested.

Isabella was so caught up in her thoughts she didn’t even notice Jack’s intense stare was fixed on her at the moment, “You’ll see if my way soon, _Bella_ ,” He grinned, turning back to the wheel, watching as the sun started to set.

She bristled at this, it was the second time he’d called her something that wasn’t her name, “That’s not my name,” She told him with a frown, moving away from the railing so she wouldn’t get trapped by him once more.

Jack didn’t spare her a glance after that, he kept staring out at the ocean, “Maybe I’ll use your name when you use mine, luv,” He commented, off-handedly.

She couldn’t help but to huff about that, of course he was going to be childish about that, “Fine, now if you don’t mind Captain Sparrow, it’s been a long day, I’m going to try to find a place to settle for the night,” She said, dismissing herself.  

“If you can’t find a comfortable place to lay the Captain’s Cabin is always open luv, there’s plenty of room for two,” She heard him call from the helm and when she looked behind to tell him off he was winking at her, making her forget what she intended to say in the first place, so instead she spun around and huffed off, hoping to find a place to rest for a little while.

Thankfully below deck there was a couple of hammocks hung in one section of the ship and Isabella was quick to settle herself down onto one of them, briefly wondering if she’d get seasick from the sleeping arrangements, but having been on ships when she was younger she knew she didn’t get sick easily so she hoped the same went for now.

Before her thoughts could go racing again she forced her eyes shut and let herself fall asleep faster than she had in a long time.

* * *

 

The next morning, Isabella woke up to a loud knock on the wall next to her, she nearly fell out of her hammock to see Will standing there holding a plate of some food, hopefully for her, “Good morning,” She mumbled, only slightly embarrassed that Will was waking her up, but better him than Jack.

“Morning,” He said, rubbing at the back of his head, clearly feeling a little awkward himself, “I brought you some breakfast,” He said, setting down the plate on a small table in the corner of the room before he quickly left her to herself to eat her breakfast and get ready for another day aboard Captain Jack’s ship.

The food wasn’t quite what she was used to, but as soon as she ate it she realized how hungry she’d become, not having eaten since the day before, really, and once the food was gone she straightened out her clothes and joined the other two men on deck.

Once she was above deck, she realized how sunny it was, even though they couldn’t have been too far from Port Royal the sun was bearing down on her almost painfully, and being on the fairer side it wasn’t a joy to realize she was most likely going to get burnt by the end of the day.

“Good of you to join us,” Jack spoke up as soon as he noticed her on deck, he wasn’t at the wheel this morning, probably because it didn’t seem too windy and they must’ve been on the right track, she assumed once she saw him discreetly check at his compass.

She shot him a look as she tried to readjust her bandana without irritating her healing wound, which didn’t slip Jack’s notice in the slightest, “What have you got there?” He pressed, clearly not catching the hint that she didn’t care to speak with him at the moment.

Before she could turn away he was next to her, pulling the bandana out of her hands and grabbing her chin with one of his calloused hands to tilt it sideways so he could get a better look at her wound. Isabella made way to snatch the bandana back from his hands but before she could he was moving backwards looking like he was poised to move down below with her things.

“Give that back,” Isabella demanded, immediately following after him to get her bandana back, “I need to keep my wound covered!” She insisted.

He gave her a quick look over his shoulder before descending into the ship, looking like he knew he would follow her, “I’ll do you one better,” He muttered, searching through a set of drawers before he straightened up, turning back towards her, “C’mere, luv,” He said with a grin, extending the bandana to her.

She narrowed her eyes at him, but took the bait and moved to accept the bandana from his hands, but before she could he pulled it backwards, tutting at her, “Turn around,” He told her, fiddling with the bandana.

Rolling her eyes, Isabella decided to listen to him, there probably wasn’t much he could do to her at the moment and she didn’t care enough to fight him on it. Before she could even ask what he was doing she felt his rough hands come around the top of her head to tie her hair back and cover her wound as well, tucking strands of her hair behind her ears as she did so and tying a tight knot at the back of her head, “That’s better,” He muttered, and Isabella could’ve sworn she felt a hand run through the length of her hair before she spun around to face him.

Her hands flew up to the new look once she’d given herself some space from him, “Thank you,” She finally decided to say, “I don’t understand why we had to come all the way down here for you to do this,” She trailed off, hoping he would get the hint and answer her not-question.

The pirate had just been staring at her, watching her fiddle with her hair before he perked up slightly as if remembering something, “Right,” He said, spinning around to the drawer her was going through before and then turning back to face her.

She barely had time to see what he was doing before her view was obstructed by him pulling something over her head, not bothering to back up from her this time.

Isabella registered that he’d thrown a hat atop her head, but she wasn’t quite sure why, “What?” She asked a little dumbly, not quite knowing why the pirate was being so strangely nice to her this morning instead of his strange flirting that she had to deal with all of yesterday!

“For the sun, luv, don’t want you turning red on us,” He confessed and before Isabella had the chance to respond he was heading topside again, leaving her to either stay put or follow after him once more.

She chose the latter.

Heading outside again she was more than happy to realize whatever hat he’d picked out for her worked wonders with blocking the sun from hitting most of her face, she knew she was still likely to burn but at least this way it wouldn’t happen so quickly, so she was at least able to relish in her own little bit of shade that the hat provided her.

Jack was steering the ship again, staring down at his compass for a moment before looking out at the horizon once more. Isabella was so focused on Jack she didn’t even notice Will coming up behind her, “It’s a nice hat,” He commented, flicking one end of it with his fingers to get her attention.

She spun to face him, not happy to have been caught staring at Jack for even a moment, “Thank you, _he_ found it down below, it’s helping with the sun at least,” She said, running a finger along the brim of her new hat.

Will took a glance up at Jack, “That was nice of him,” He commented, “He also said we’ll be making port at sunset, we’ll be in Tortuga before you know it,” Will was quick to pull out his sword and start sharpening it again.

Isabella felt a smile grace her features, “I wonder what it’s going to be like,” She fantasized, she’d never been to a town practically run by pirates, this was shaping up to be a right adventure, and she was thrilled to see where Jack would be taking them.

Will shook his head as he continued to sharpen his sword, “If he’s anything to go by I’m not so sure that you’ll like it there,” He teased, turning to look at her again, “You know, actually you might not have a hard time there, considering you _look_ like a pirate now,” He added, sounding almost bereft at the thought of her being a pirate.

She rolled her eyes at him before realizing that she really _did_ look like a pirate… or more upsetting, she looked like _Jack_ , something she wasn’t too excited to realize, but at least it was practical for the moment, “Maybe he does know what he’s doing, I’m sure it won’t hurt to blend in,” Isabella decided, thinking practically instead of just becoming upset at what he did.

Will shook his head, turning back to his work and leaving Isabella to come up with something to occupy the time, since she was sure neither of the men were going to ask for her help, she’d just try to find something else to do to keep herself on her feet.

That being said, it wasn’t as easy to come up with things to do on a ship as she thought it would be, especially because a short lifetime of reading about pirates didn’t really equipt her in the way she thought it would when it came to _actually_ being on a pirate ship. When she’d go sailing with the Navy there was always plenty of men to do all the work that needed to be done and her and Elizabeth were left to just enjoy themselves, too bad she never actually listened to what any of them were saying while the navy hustled around on the ships she’d been on.

It didn’t take Isabella long to make the decision to ask Jack if there was anything she could help out with, which was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had no other choice else she be stuck with her boredom for the rest of their trip to Tortuga.

Jack seemed to notice her as soon as she started walking towards where he was still steering the ship, calling out to her as soon as he noticed her, “Finally get tired of pacing around me ship?” He called out.

Isabella quickly hopped up the stairs to join him at the helm, “I guess you could say that,” She agreed somewhat hesitantly, “Is there anything I can do to help?” She asked after a moment of silence from him.

He turned to face her, finally taking his hands off the wheel and pulling out his compass, “You want to find your sister, aye?” He asked, examining the compass that she suspected didn’t work, as James had pointed out just a few days ago.

That was a strange thought to Isabella, it felt like she’d known Jack for much longer at this point, but it hadn’t even been a week, the past few days had just been absolutely crazy for someone like Isabella who didn’t live a life of adventure. Clearing her throat she realized he was expecting an answer from her, “Yes, I wouldn’t be if I _didn’t_ want to find her,” She insisted, sending him a pointed look.

Jack nodded, “And to do that we need to get to Tortuga,” He explained, “Won’t be able to get yer dear Elizabeth back without a crew of me own,” He continued, offering her the compass.

Hesitantly, Isabella accepted the compass, not sure if she should since every interaction she had with the pirate so far ended in his favor and usually with her embarrassment, but she took it and quickly examined it to see if Norrington was right about it not working. When she opened it the needled turned in circles a few times before pointing in the direction that their ship was already heading, “It really doesn’t point north,” She muttered, looking up at Jack to see that he was grinning at her as he noticed where the compass was pointing.

He nodded, ushering her forwards so she was standing closer to the wheel than he was now, “Aye, but we’re not going north,” He told her, “Do ye know anything about steering a ship?” He asked after a moment.

Isabella shook her head, feeling almost a little frightened that he was proposing she steer this ship, she didn’t know if she could be trusted to steer a ship, but she did come to him asking for something to do, so at least he was trying to give her something, “No, maybe I should do something else,” She began, hoping he would have something else in mind.

“Nonsense!” He exclaimed and before Isabella knew what was happening he was standing behind her, grabbing her hands from behind and moving them so she was gripping the wooden wheel where he had not moments ago, “Yer a natural, luv,” He said, moving to the side once her hands were in the proper spot.

Once he moved away from her she allowed herself to relax a little bit, hoping that he wouldn’t take that as any sort of invitation from her, “Is this it?” She asked frowning, “How do I know where to go?”

He had grabbed his compass back and clipped it onto the side of her belt, “Follow this, just remember to help yer sister we need to get to Tortuga,” He instructed, moving to head away from the helm.

“Wait,” Isabella called, her heart hammering at the thought of being left alone, “I- what if… I’m  just supposed to follow your compass?” She clarified, “What, does it only lead to Tortuga?” She asked, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

Jack paused at the top of the stairs, “Nope,” He confessed, popping the ‘p,’ “Just remember we need a crew to get to yer sister,” And before she could question him further he was gone to do who knows what on this ship.

Taking one shaky hand off the wheel, Isabella opened the compass to make sure they were still on the right track, which they were, before her hands went back to the wheel to make sure she could keep the Interceptor steady. She wasn’t sure how long she spent steering the ship, after getting over her initial fear of having that much responsibility she relaxed and found herself enjoying just being out on the open waters. All at once she was reminded of how much she used to love being out on the seas from back when she was younger, it was a shame she didn’t get to do this much more in her older age, frankly she wasn’t sure if she would ever again, but here she was, steering a ship nonetheless! The sun started to become more bearable the longer she stood outside and she knew at this point her arms would have a nice tan going on, but at this point because she was so at ease she found that she didn’t care too much. The wind on her face helped with the immense heat too, it was such a nice and familiar feeling that she never knew she would love so much.

After what she assumed was several hours, Jack rejoined her at the helm, almost startling her because she had no clue how he snuck up on her so quietly, “Yer lookin’ like a proper pirate, luv,” He announced himself with a near whisper in her ear, “Could be a pirate, if you’d like.”

Isabella couldn’t help but to jump, letting go of the wheel and spinning around so her back wouldn’t be to him any longer, “I’m not a pirate,” She insisted, meeting his eyes in a challenging way.

“Ye could be luv,” He began, sauntering closer to her and causing her to back up into the wheel, “You’ve got the look, you’ve got the _want_ ,” He insisted, grabbing a piece of her hair that had fallen over her shoulders and twirling it between his fingers, almost getting it caught in his rings.

She rolled her eyes, pulling her hair back so it fell down her back again and was out of his reach, “I do _not_ have the want,” She insisted, “And I insist you do not call me one.”

Isabella wasn’t sure why Jack liked to antagonize her so much, but for some reason here they were, every time that they had an encounter there was something going on, and she didn’t like it. He was childish and she didn’t have enough patience to deal with him as much as she’d had to in the past couple of days.

He shrugged, of course he wasn’t going to listen to her but there was no point in giving that away now, “I’m taking over again luv, we’re about to make port,” He instructed, “Might want to gather up as much shillings as you can, it’d be best to get you dressed,” He decided before she could slip away from him.

She narrowed her eyes at him as he ran a calloused hand over the wheel, “I’m not about to buy a dress if that’s what you’re suggesting-” She began. If anything she _knew_ being in a blasted dress would only slow her down compared to the two men even more, and she was not going to take that chance until she was safely back with her sister on their way back to Port Royal!

Jack was quick to cut her off though, acting like he wasn’t even phased by her outburst, “I’m not asking ye to, luv, just thought you should get some clothes that fit,” He phrased, his eyes scanning over her body quickly where her baggy clothes fit harshly on her.

He was probably right, there wasn’t any reason she shouldn’t have clothes that would fit her better once they made it to Tortuga, as long he was willing to show her where to buy clothes, and she was upset to realize she was agreeing with him, “Fine, I’ll see what I can find,” She decided, again moving to slip away from his side and leave him to steering the ship.

Just as she made her second escape attempt she found herself stuck to his side with a strong arm holding her back by her bicep, “You’ve still got something of mine,” Jack said, his eyes darting to where his compass was still hanging off Isabella’s belt.

She blushed, pulling it off her belt quickly enough and offering it back to him, “Here,” She muttered.

He cocked an eyebrow in her direction, “Do you mind?” He asked, releasing her arm and grabbing the wheel with both hands. Her blush lit up her face even more, remembering their first encounter where she’d returned his effects.

As quickly as possible she hooked the broken compass back onto his person, sending him a sharp look as if to ask if there was anything else he was going to bring up before she could get the chance to leave again.

And of course he had more to say, “Did you figure it out?” He asked, his eyes darting towards her quickly before returning to the horizon.

She furrowed her brow, it took her a moment to realize he was still talking about the compass, and to be honest she hadn’t put much thought into it, if it didn’t point towards Tortuga or North she couldn’t comprehend what else it would point to, it didn’t make much sense to her, “No, if it doesn’t point to Tortuga I’ve got no clue,” She repeated from earlier, hoping that maybe he’d been lying to her before, but it didn’t make much sense for _this_ pirate to always want to know where Tortuga was, she was sure he enjoyed his time there, but was it really that important to him to make his compass direct him there?

“Give it some time, you’ll figure it out, Bella,” He drawled out, running a hand over the compass which she took one more curious look at before practically running down the stairs to look for some shillings to buy herself some better fitting clothes once they reached Tortuga.

Her mind was racing, for some reason there was something about Jack she couldn’t get out of her head, he bothered her nonstop and he seemed completely wreckless, like he couldn’t care less for her or Will, which he clearly didn’t he was only here for his own gain, but another part of her had a strange feeling that they could trust him, clearly he was helping them, he did have the chance to kill Will before and he didn’t do it. At the same time he also was very smart and definitely something mysterious about him, so mysterious she couldn’t help but think about him, he was someone she wanted to figure out and she wasn’t sure if it would be as easy as she hoped it would. And then there was the whole deal with his compass, making him even more mysterious if it were possible! A compass that didn’t point north, she couldn’t help but think about what it could point to, a part of her hoped that she would be able to get a closer look at it later, maybe once they _weren’t_ on their way to Tortuga, so she could see where else it would take them.

Once Isabella reached below deck, it didn’t take her too long to find some shillings, hopefully enough to buy her some new, practical clothes as quickly as possible, she was thankful some of the navy left their own things on the ship before Jack commandeered it, it make it feel a little bit more like home.

Emerging from down below, Isabella was slightly surprised to see that the sun was almost setting and there was the clear view of land in the distance, “That was quick,” She muttered to herself, not expecting anyone to be able to hear her.

“I guess they were right about this being the fastest boat in the armada,” Will added, startling Isabella.

She nodded in response, shoving her shillings into her trouser pockets and looking up to see Jack still steering the ship, “Do you know how to dock?” She asked, hoping it wouldn’t be too tricky for only three people.

Will shook his head, “Not really, he said we’re going to drop anchor soon and row to shore,” Will explained, much to Isabella’s relief, she hated not knowing what was going on, which had happened too often after they’d joined up with the pirate.

“Ms. Swann,” Jack called, releasing the wheel and walking closer to the pair of friends, “Take the wheel, William, get ready to drop anchor,” He instructed, sounding more like a captain than she’d heard him sound yet.

She felt compelled to listen to him, for some reason he really did sound like a natural leader to her, “Yessir,” Isabella mockingly replied, turning before he could answer and taking hold of the wheel.

Thankfully it didn’t take too long for the two men to drop the anchor and soon enough she was being told to leave the helm and join them at the small boat that they were going to take to shore. Isabella wasn’t quite sure if she was feeling anxious or excited to head to a new town for the first time in years, but whatever it was, she quickly squashed the feelings down because with one look towards Jack she could tell he saw something in her in that moment. And whatever he saw she knew she wasn’t going to like it, if he thought she was anxious he could easily ditch her here, claiming if she couldn’t handle Tortuga she wouldn’t be able to handle pirates later on, but if he saw her excitement then who knows what would happen.

But she was sure she didn't want to find out. 


	3. Chapter 3

The boat that they took to shore was barely big enough for three people, she wasn’t sure who made this decision because there was definitely other boats that they could’ve taken from their ship, but here they were, practically as cramped as they were underneath the boat when they were first trying to take over the Dauntless. Isabella was stuck between Will and Jack, her back pressed against Jack’s and her knees pressed up against Will’s knees leaving the two men to row them to shore. 

She could feel Jack moving behind her, it was really almost distracting, feeling his back move as he rhythmically rowed them to shore, but she kept trying to brush it off, ignoring the motion from behind her, not like it was that easy. 

“Here we are!” Jack announced once they reached the dock. He clamored out first, followed by Will who extended a helpful hand towards Isabella to help her out of the boat while Jack was securing it to the dock so they’d be able to get back to the Interceptor, “More importantly,” Jack continued, “It is indeed a sad life that has never breathed deep this sweet, proliferous bouquet that is Tortuga, savvy? What do you think?” Jack asked, turning around to face the two non-pirates. 

Finally getting a good look around just the dock, Isabella was not that surprised to see that there were pirates ever and women who looked like they had too much to share… Not that she was here to judge, but she found it very overwhelming even though they were only at the docs. 

“It’s certainly different,” Isabella decided, her eyes rapidly looking at everything they could, not only was she overwhelmed, she couldn’t even hide her excitement this time, Tortuga was  _ nothing _ like Port Royal, and she couldn’t help but be intrigued. 

Will frowned though, clearly not having the same experience she was, “It’ll linger,” He added. 

After Jack’s eyes turned from her to Will, he got a mischievous look on his face, “I’ll tell you mate, if every town in the world was like this, no man would feel unwanted,” He told Will, sounding thrilled. 

The three of them turned to walk down the docks to get further in the town but they didn’t get too far before there was a woman marching towards them. Isabella studied the woman, she was beautiful, but in a different way from beautiful women she knew back in Port Royal, wearing a big dress with a less than modest bust, and her dark hair done up in a fabulous updo, and it didn’t take her long to march straight up to Jack’s side. 

“Scarlett!” Jack exclaimed, opening his arms wide in greeting to the women. 

She didn’t even say anything, she just marched proudly up to the man before slapping him straight across the face, she didn’t even wait to see his reaction before she turned around to storm off back to where she came from. “Not sure I deserved that,” Jack muttered. 

Isabella nearly laughed at their altercation, she couldn’t believe Captain Jack Sparrow was in Tortuga getting slapped straight across the face, it was hilarious! She was about to say something to him about it too, if it weren’t for the fact a second woman came towards them now, wearing a similar dress to the first woman, but the difference was that the second woman had beautiful blond curls, “Giselle,” Jack greeted again, treating her the same way he just treated Scarlett. 

Giselle marched up to him with arms crossed over her chest, “Who was she?” She demanded, to which Isabella couldn’t even help but snort at, catching the blond’s attention, “And who is  _ she _ ?” She demanded, pointing an angry finger towards where Isabella was standing next to Jack. 

“What?” Jack asked, playing dumb. 

Giselle didn’t even wait for Jack to give a better response before her hand went flying too, hitting Jack straight across the face and then she stomped off, following Scarlett’s trail. 

This time Isabella couldn’t help but to laugh at him as he confessed: “I may have deserved that.” 

“I think I like it here,” She grinned, smirking at the Captain’s reddening cheeks after being slapped twice. 

He scowled at her briefly before his eyes darted around the docks, “You’ll have to stick with either m’self or William at all times dearie, you’re not going to like it for long,” Jack instructed, strutting forwards again but this time slinging an arm around her shoulders. 

Will caught up to them at the same time that Isabella was able to throw Jack’s arm off of her, “You sound very sure about that,” She muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Will looking between the two of them, looking just as confused as she felt, but she wasn’t planning on showing her confusion as readily as Will did as Jack led them through the strange town. 

“Clothes,” The pirate suddenly said, as if remembering something, “Let’s make a pitstop,” He instructed, pulling Will and Isabella to the side. 

He found a small shop that harbored men’s clothes and after telling Will to wait outside he pulled Isabella inside and started rummaging through some of the clothes there. “You can wait outside you know,” Isabella said, searching through the clothes herself. 

Before she even had a chance to pull anything out for her to try Jack was shoving some things into her arms, pushing her towards a tall mirror, “Try these,” He instructed, heading outside after that. 

She huffed, and looked around the clothes for a few more minutes before finally deciding that what Jack had picked out would work best and she might as well get changed in here before she went back to the craziness that was Tortuga, at least here she felt like she was on her own for the most part. 

Isabella had no clue  _ how  _ he had done it but the outfit was practically perfect, the trousers were snug but still allowed for motion, the shirt hung down to her thighs but when she tucked it in it went really well with the bottoms and the outfit was completed with a thick jacket similar to Jack’s own (which was a fact she ignored for the time being and chose to think about practicality). The jacket had plenty of pockets and was very breathable which she was thankful for in the heat of the daytime, and she couldn’t even deny that she looked comfortable in these clothes, so she quickly set off to buy them and meet back up with Jack and Will. 

When she met up with the two men again she wasn’t surprised to see Will standing almost awkwardly by the side of the building she’d been in while Jack had wandered away slightly and looked as if he was trying to charm a woman who seemed to not be too interested in him in the slightest. 

“Ready to go?” Isabella asked once she reached Will’s side again. 

He seemed surprised to see her there, having been watching Jack to make sure he wasn’t going to ditch them again, but once he got a good look at her whatever he was going to say seemed to die on his tongue. 

Isabella couldn’t help but to blush, hoping that Will wouldn’t think what she was wearing was too much, but she didn’t see much of a difference between her outfit and Will’s own look, she was just dressed as a man but wasn’t hiding the fact she was a woman any longer with baggy clothes, and she was comfortable, so she didn’t think this was such a bad thing. 

Will cleared his throat, clearly noticing he’d taken too long to respond, “Sorry, it’s just… I’ve never seen you dressed like that,” He finished almost lamely, leaving Isabella to laugh at him, she wasn’t expecting him to say that. 

“I’ll take that as a compliment?” She teased, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him towards Jack so they could get on with getting a crew, she wasn’t in the mood to mess around here all night long if there was something they could be doing to help her sister instead. 

Just as they reached Jack, the woman he was trying to charm had stormed off, “Let’s go pirate,” Isabella announced, stopping behind him and crossing her arms as she waited for him to turn around impatiently. 

The pirate spun around and his eyes immediately were drawn to her, “That’s a good look luv,” Jack grinned, sending her a wink. 

She rolled her eyes, “Let’s find a crew?” She asked, hoping he would get on with their goal here. 

“Aye,” Jack agreed, “I know just where to start,” Once again the pirate took the lead, hoping that Isabella and Will would follow after him, which of course they had. 

Jack took them to the last place she would’ve expected, a small pig sty that they could smell from a mile away! There was a man lying amongst the pigs, someone who seemed almost familiar to Isabella, but she didn’t have time to dwell on that before her and the men were off looking for something to wake him up with since none of them wanted to enter the sty to wake him physically. 

Of course it didn’t take Jack long to find two buckets that him and Will filled with water before they returned to the man and Jack wasted no time in throwing the bucket of fresh water all over him. 

The man shot up, “Curse you for breathing you slack jawed idiot!” He cursed, as he righted himself so that all of them could get a better look at him and give the man a better look at who woke him up, “Mother’s love, Jack? You should know better than to wake a man who’s sleeping, it’s bad luck!” The man warned. 

After the bad luck line, Isabella immediately recognized the man laying in front of them, she’d known him when she was younger, she’d sailed with him before, and she wasn’t surprised to see that his superstitious ways haven’t changed, but she didn’t want to interrupt their meeting yet. 

“Ah, fortunately, I know how to counter it,” Jack began, “The man who did the waking buys the man who was sleeping a drink. The man who did the sleeping drinks the drink while listening to the proposition from the man who did the waking,” The pirate said all too quickly, leaving his company confused for a moment before all of them realized what he was saying. 

“Aye, that’ll about do it,” The man agreed just as Will surged forward and splashed the second bucket of water all over the man, “Blast I’m already awake!” 

“That was for the smell,” Will said, simply. 

Jack shrugged to the man who gave a shrug of his own before getting himself to his feet following Jack out of the sty leaving Isabella and Will to trail after them. 

“Wait,” Isabella called, running up to the soaking wet man, “Mr. Gibbs!” 

Immediately Jack and Mr. Gibbs spun around, almost shocked that she knew his name, “Yes?” He asked with a frown, apparently he was confused as to how she knew his name. 

Isabella pulled her hat off so he could get a better look at her face, she knew he wasn’t going to be able to recognize her in the strange clothes she was in but once she told him her name she was sure he was going to remember her, she’d been sailing with him more than once. 

“You don’t recognize me?” She asked with a grin, “It’s Isabella Swann,” She said, to which his face immediately lit up. 

“Ms. Swann?” Mr. Gibbs asked, looking perplexed, “What’s a lady like you doing in a place like this,” He asked. 

Jack, clearly unamused with the conversation turned and continued walking towards wherever he was taking them while Will caught up with him and Isabella and Mr. Gibbs continued chatting, allowing her to fill him in on what their situation was, she hoped he would help them, it would be nice to have another familiar face and especially one who knew her older sister. While she was explaining their mission she could’ve sworn she saw Jack give the two of them a look over his shoulder with an almost prideful expression before he led them to a bar, ushering the three of them inside and pushing himself through the doors right after Isabella. 

The tavern was pretty crowded and even though Isabella was still talking to Mr. Gibbs as soon as she entered the new location, she found herself speechless for the most part, this was something very new to her and she was happy that she was surrounded by three men she was  _ mostly _ sure she could trust, or she could at least trust to not harm her. 

Jack set his hands down on Will and Isabella’s shoulders respectively and spun them around to face him, “You two keep a sharp eye, enjoy yourselves, if ye can,” Jack told them, and in the next second he was dragging Mr. Gibbs off to a more secluded corner of the tavern, leaving Will and Isabella to their own devices. 

“This place is… interesting,” Isabella hesitated, wrinkling her nose in response to the strange odor that seemed to sift through the place. She looked around thoroughly, trying to keep note of all the strange characters that were accompanying them in the tavern, there certainly was a wide array of different people she’d never expect to be here, and ones that looked as if this was the only place they could call a home. She didn’t even notice when Will had practically turned his full attention towards Jack and Mr. Gibbs, clearly eavesdropping on their conversation until he caught her attention with a firm hand on her shoulder. 

“He’s planning on using us as bait,” He said suddenly, turning serious as he shared his new information with Isabella. 

She froze, having been in the middle of watching a larger woman circle her way around several different tables talking to each man she came across, and instead focused on Will, “What are you talking about?” She asked, feeling confused. 

Will jerked his head backwards indicating he was talking about Jack and Mr. Gibbs, “He said he’s going to use me as leverage,” He explained, “We can’t trust him.” 

Isabella frowned, sure he was a pirate and she had a feeling that he couldn’t be trusted from the beginning but at least he’d never outright given them a reason to think he was untrustworthy, but of course she believed Will, he had no reason to lie about what he was hearing, “What should we do about it?” She asked, not being able to deny that she was feeling hurt at the betrayal, but pushing it down for the sake of her sister. 

“Let’s pretend we don’t know anything, give him no reason to suspect us, when the time comes we’ll save Elizabeth ourselves, he just needs to get us there,” Will decided after another moment. 

She nodded, deciding that was the best way to go about things since there was no other way to really deal with their situation, especially because this was their first dealing with pirates! 

Isabella would’ve responded to him if it weren’t for the woman she’d been watching before come up behind the two of them and practically push Isabella out of the way to get right next to Will, laughing as she guzzled down a drink. 

She would’ve laughed at the scene, Will looked so uncomfortable and out of place, and she almost did have a chance to laugh, but after a moment she was pulled backwards by a set of warm hands wrapping themselves around her waist. 

“Hey there missus,” A gruff voice hissed in her ear as she was pulled into a much larger body than hers. 

Isabella made way to pull away from the hands but whoever was behind her wasn’t giving her that option so easily, “Where ya going, why don’t ya stay for a while,” He continued, sending shivers down her spine. 

Realizing that Will was still being occupied by the woman, she decided that she was going to have to do something about her predicament herself, but she wasn’t quite sure what she should do, the most she’d ever done is slap one pirate when he was in jail, she wasn’t equipped to fight someone like the man behind her. 

Deciding she at least needed to try, impulsively she threw her hand backwards hoping to hit him in the face before she flung herself sideways, turning around so that her back wouldn’t be to him for longer than it had to be. 

“You whore,” The man growled after she was successfully able to pull herself out of his grip and turn around to face him, she realized that the man she’d managed to pull away from was significantly bigger than her and she wasn’t quite sure how she managed to do that, until she noticed him rubbing at his eye and she was pretty sure she’d smacked him right in the eye. 

The man moved to grab her again and Isabella stepped back quickly, her body colliding hard with a strangely familiar face as a long sword came into her vision and was quickly pointed at the man who was pursuing her, as a solid arm came around her waist, holding her up and stopping her from falling backwards, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, mate,” Jack’s familiar voice rang out from behind her. 

Isabella let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when she realized it was Jack behind her, turning the tables on the man in front of her. 

“What are you gonna do ‘bout it,” Her attacker sneered. 

Jack was quick to change their positions so Isabella was pushed behind him and towards Will who had gotten rid of the woman from before at this point so he was able to dote on Isabella, making sure she was okay. Mr. Gibbs was there as well, but he was clearly standing behind Jack in support, apparently he’d agreed to help the pirate. 

Before the man could get another word in Jack was swinging his sword towards him and the entire tavern erupted in a full blown fight, almost everyone had pulled out swords or guns or something at that point and were finding any reason they could to get in a fight. 

Somehow, Jack had managed to slip away from the fight and joined the rest of them, heading straight to Isabella and pulling her towards the exit, “Time to go,” He announced, his sword held out in front of them as he navigated their way out of the tavern, pulling Isabella along with him until the four of them were back outside. 

Isabella didn’t even notice the smile that had stretched out across her face until she saw Jack grinning back at her and she quickly sent him a scowl, silently telling him to not read too far into that, “There you go luv,” Jack began, putting his sword away, “An authentic Tortuga experience!” 

He seemed to be enjoying himself, but now that she wasn’t smiling no one else seemed to be, which Isabella couldn’t help but to find humorous, forcing her to hide her second smile behind her hand, hoping no one would notice. “Right then,” Jack continued, patting Mr. Gibbs on his shoulder, “I’ll be seeing you in the morn, with my men?” He asked, an excited gleam in his eye. 

“Aye Cap’n, you won’t be disappointed,” Gibbs agreed before he bid goodnight to the group and disappeared back into the tavern, hopefully to help them get a good group of men together, leaving the unlikely trio by themselves again. 

Jack clasped his hands together, “Let’s go find a room, shall we?” He decided, his head swiveling around as if to get his bearings. 

Once more Isabella and Will were left to follow Jack to wherever he decided to lead them, giving Isabella some time to think. Of course she believed Will when he told her that Jack was planning on using them as leverage, she’d have to be stupid not to. There was a reason that Jack had decided to help them so easily after they’d already offered to free him, and she strongly suspected it had something to do with Will, but she didn’t have any reason to believe he’d betray them, but apparently you couldn't trust a pirate. They’d only known him for about four days now anyways and it’s not like he was someone she wanted to spend time with, so another part of her hoped that he would betray them so she could get on with saving Elizabeth and never having to deal with pirates again. But another part of her was frightened to learn that she was really enjoying the excitement and adventure of their travels, not as much as she enjoyed her normal life, of course, but there was something thrilling about what they were doing, something she couldn’t deny, and that all centered around the Captain, much to her dismay. 

Then of course there was the matter of things beyond his future betrayal, he obviously didn’t care too much about people around them, she found that to be true when they’d first come to Tortuga and he’d been greeted by the two different women, not that she cared what he did in his free time, but it wasn’t a good sign of his character when as soon as he entered a town his greeting was getting slapped twice in a row. 

He was just a mystery she was sure she’d never be able to figure out, and she was sure if she spent too much time thinking about it she was bound to drive herself crazy! 

Coming to another tavern, Isabella nearly ran face-first into Jack’s back at his abrupt stop at the front door, too wrapped up in her own thoughts to realize he’d stopped, “Here we are,” He announced, holding open the door for both of them, “M’lady,” He offered, waving her forward and reminding her once again of their first meeting. 

She shot him a look and swept past him into the much quieter tavern and the two men followed, “How is this going to work?” She asked after a moment, “Are these rooms… safe?” 

Jack paused for a second, “Safe ‘nuff,” He decided after a moment, “Sides, I wouldn’t compromise your honor by making you share a room with William or I,” He teased, before crowding her space a little too much so that Will couldn’t hear, “Unless you want me to,” He practically growled. 

His voice went straight to her core, and it didn’t take long for Isabella to remind herself about how he treats women, and she wouldn’t dare let herself fall for it. With a firm hand to his chest she pushed him away, “Well as long as this place as your  _ seal of approval _ , Captain, I’ll be fine,” She insisted, marching past him further into the tavern. 

She didn’t even hear Jack turn to Will and mutter, “Where did you find this one?” Before Will shoved him after her so he could get them rooms. 

Jack ended up getting them two rooms, one for Isabella and one for himself and Will for the night, apparently Mr. Gibbs was going to have to find one for himself when the time came. Once they got the keys to their respective rooms, Isabella realized that she wasn’t quite as tired as she thought she was, but Will wasted no time in heading up the stairs to head to his shared room with Jack, bidding the two of them a goodnight. 

“Aren’t ye going to head off, luv?” Jack asked after Will had disappeared, leaving the two of them together. 

She looked down at the small golden key in her hand, “I suppose I should…” She decided, looking up the stairs. 

Before she could go, the pirate had stepped in front of her, cutting off her view of the stairs. “Or,” Jack said, cutting her off, “Ye could explore Tortuga, if yer interested,” He continued. 

Isabella hadn’t expected him to offer that to her, she expected him to send her off to her room, and a part of her wanted to go to her room and not deal with any more adventures for the rest of the day, but another part of her couldn’t deny her want to explore, “I’m not so sure,” She confessed, knowing it definitely wasn’t the best idea for her to be alone in Tortuga. 

His face lit up, clearly having seen something she didn’t, “Nonsense, I’ll stick around, show ye the sights, I promise,” Jack grinned.  

She was about to outright say no, it would’ve been the right thing to do, especially because she was pretty sure she’d already seen what Tortuga was like when she’d practically started a brawl in the tavern they’d just been in. But there was something about the prospect of learning more about this new place they were in that she was sure she wouldn’t be able to experience again after she got her sister back… So what was holding her back? 

“What kind of sights?” Isabella couldn’t help but ask, deciding that as soon as the words were out of her mouth she didn’t like the look that was sparkling in his eyes. 

Before she knew what was happening, he threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her forward, and straight out to the street of Tortuga once more, “All kinds, especially if you know where to look,” Jack told her. 

As soon as they were back out in the streets, Isabella realized she was relieved that Jack’s arm was around her, especially with all the sketchy looking characters that they passed as soon as they stepped out of the tavern, not that Jack wasn’t somewhat of a sketchy looking character himself but at least she  _ felt _ like she could trust him. It was a little unsettling being around so many pirates and criminals, but it was more unsettling for Isabella to realize it didn’t bother her as much as she thought it would. 

“Where are we going?” She asked after a moment of him pulling her along, uncharacteristically silent. 

She could feel his fingers run along her arm as he pulled them down a new street, “ _ We _ are getting ourselves some drinks, luv,” He confessed, “Then I’ll be able to give you the real tour,” He decided. 

Isabella wasn’t sure if she’d want to drink here, but if he was going to be a gentleman enough to buy her something, she wasn’t going to complain… Even if she might not end up drinking whatever he decided to buy. It didn’t take long for Jack to find  _ another  _ tavern and he pulled the two of them inside. 

To get to the bar, they had to descend several sets of staircases to the bottom floor where there were plenty of people who looked like they had been having too much fun here at this point. Isabella couldn’t help but jump into Jack’s side when a particularly drunk man tried to make a grab for her once the two of them passed his table. 

Jack, of course, noticed the cause of her jumpiness, but laughed nonetheless, “Told ya, you’d warm up to me,” He grinned down at her. 

Isabella frowned back up at him, deciding to finally rip herself from his grip so he couldn’t torment her any longer with his stupid teasing. Thankfully he didn’t make any move to grab onto her again and instead he sauntered over towards the bar, quickly obtaining two large mugs and thrusting one into her unexpecting hands. 

“What’s this?” She asked, realizing she’d practically only been asking him questions once the two of them had left Will. 

Jack was quick to take a big gulp of whatever he’d gotten them before he looked down at her, “It’s rum,” He grinned, taking another swig, “If ye want to keep up, better start drinking,” He instructed, turning on his heel to leave the tavern, expecting her to follow him, which she did without hesitation after noticing the looks she was getting now that she was alone. 

Once she was at his side again she took a small sip of the rum, she’d never had rum before, in fact she was never one to drink much alcohol at all, it wasn’t something she fancied to drink that often so she chose most of the time to skip it. That being said, the rum tasted horrible! Isabella caught herself almost coughing after the burning drink ran down her throat but she quickly stopped herself, only grimacing at the taste before lowering the mug and watching in awe as Jack threw back another big gulp. 

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hardly even noticed when Jack had stopped in his tracks, causing Isabella to run into his back, nearly spilling her rum, “Oy,” Jack complained after he realized that she hadn’t managed to spill any of her drink or his, “Watch yerself, we’re here,” He decided, gesturing out over the open seas with one arm. 

Isabella couldn’t help but to frown, almost finding herself underwhelmed with his grand spectacle he was presenting to her, “We’re at the docks again,” She pointed out, her eyes spotting the Interceptor from where they had dropped anchor earlier in the afternoon. 

Jack shook his head as he took another sip of his seemingly never ending mug of rum, “S’not  _ just _ the docks luv, c’mon,” He instructed, leading her closer to the dock’s end before he began to unravel some ropes that had tied their smaller dinghy to the docks, “Let’s get going,  _ Bella _ ,” He said with a grin, extending his free hand to her as he stepped halfway into the boat. 

“Going where?” She asked, curiously while simultaneously accepting his offered hand and climbing sloppily into the boat, him following after her quickly. 

Jack sat across from her and thrust his half empty mug into her free hand as he grabbed onto the oars, “I made ye a promise, luv,” He said, enigmatically as he forced their boat away from the docks, rowing along the shoreline as he took them to who knows where. 

“So the real sights aren’t the taverns and drunks lining the streets?” She quipped, hardly noticing that the further Jack rowed them away from the docks the quieter the noisy town became. 

He shot her an amused look but didn’t say anything, turning his head as if to check where he was going. Isabella didn’t even bother to ask any more questions, knowing all she would get from the pirate would be backwards answers that confused her even further, so instead she started to work on her mug of rum, hoping to catch up to his level before he could start drinking again. She was sure she was going to need it if she was following him to a strange location. 

Finally, the silence became too much and she realized how far away from the town the two of them had made it a good distance away from the hustle and bustle of Tortuga, “How much further?” Isabella asked almost nervously, not being able to keep the question in once she realized how uncomfortable she felt in her new situation. 

Jack had pulled the oars up so that they were no longer in the water and he was no longer rowing, “We’re here,” He told her, reaching across the seats to grab his mug from her hand as he started up on his drinking once more. 

Isabella frowned, she hadn’t realized how far they’d rowed until just this second, they must’ve been very far away from the main part of the town, and she couldn’t help but to turn to look behind her to see just how far Jack had taken her. “Where-?” Isabella began, her unspoken question dying on her tongue just ask she turned to see just where the two of them wound up. 

The island was still visible, but it wasn’t where they’d just left, it was quiet from what she could tell, but the lights were still twinkling, creating a magnificent display of colors from their view out on the water. She could even see beyond the lights, something she must’ve been too blind to pay attention to before when they were heading into town, there was wildlife extending as far as she could see, mountains and trees that she could barely make out the silhouette of in the darkness, but with the town illuminating it’s scenery behind it, it really was a beautiful sight. 

“Best sight in Tortuga,” Jack spoke up, clearly noticing the way that Isabella froze at the view. 

She blinked a couple of times, her mind racing as she wondered why he would take her to this place and  _ how  _ he even knew they had this view out here. Their boat turned so the two of them both had a view of the horizon and the island, Jack having quickly halted their dinghy so they could sit on the still water. 

He was watching her with hooded eyes as he took another sip of his rum, he must’ve almost drank the entire thing by this point and she was almost tempted to give him the rest of hers before she came to her senses and realized that she’d rather not be with an overly drunk pirate while she was still just starting to feel tipsy. She didn’t want Jack to know that she was trying to figure out what he was up to, so she kept her sights out on the island as her mind raced with a flurry of thoughts. 

It was strange to be here with him, by themselves, it was the first time they’d ever been alone together really, well since she broke into jail, but that was different, she could’ve shouted and a guard would’ve came running, but here out on the open water they were all alone, it was just the two of them and she was sure no one would come running his time if she shouted at all. Then there was the matter of how he’d found this beautiful, almost romantic place, she was sure the pirate didn’t come into this town to just go sightseeing, there were definitely other intentions he had on this island that she didn’t care too think too deeply about. But maybe she should think too deeply about what Jack Sparrow did in his free time on this island because she was the one who was alone with him at the moment, not any other woman who he could’ve picked up at a tavern who had drank half their weight in alcohol, it was her. And that thought terrified her. 

That’s why he had to have brought her out here, she was sure this worked with plenty of other women, taking them out in the middle of the night to a beautiful new location on his boat, it was almost romantic, and she was sure if she didn’t know who he was and what his intentions were, the situation with her would’ve gone differently as well. But she knew he was a pirate, and she was a lady, and she wasn’t going to let him coerce her into whatever he thought he was going to be able to get out of this! 

Isabella’s head shot back to face him, forcing herself to tear her eyes away from the village as she attempted to speak to him without her voice betraying her, “Well, this has been lovely,” Isabella breathed, her hands shaking against the mug slightly as she tried not to make eye contact with him, “But I think we should be heading back to town now, I would like a nice night’s sleep before we set sail again,” Shakily, Isabella took another sip of the rum, letting the warmth of the drink calm her nerves as she realized the intensity of the situation she was in with him. 

Jack narrowed his eyes, finishing the rest of his rum and setting the mug down on the floor of the boat before he leant forwards, his arms resting on his knees as he steadied himself, “Ye sure about that?” He asked, the corners of his lips turning up into his familiar grin. 

Her eyes were wide, and she was sure he could tell that she was nervous, but she wasn’t going to back down from the pirate’s commanding stare, “Yes. If you please?” She asked, wishing she had anything else to look at other than him. 

She watched anxiously as he stared her down, his eyes boring into hers for another moment before he straightened back up and grabbed onto the oars, rowing back towards the town, “Ye know, luv, if yer going to be sticking around for a while on this search for your sister, we should get a little more  _ comfortable _ ,” He suggested after a minute of him rowing, the only noise before that was the water slapping the side of their boat. 

Isabella, who had been drinking more rum in a poor attempt to calm herself, nearly spat it out, not believing what she was hearing, “I’m sorry?” She gasped, her mouth hanging open in shock. 

Jack’s grin was nearly infectious, she was sure she would’ve smiled back if  _ this _ wasn’t the situation that she was in at the moment, “I’m just suggesting, luv, that you don’t get so nervous around little ol’ me,” He said with a shrug, as if he hadn’t meant anything by his dubious statement. 

She couldn’t help but to narrow her eyes at him, “I’m not nervous,” She decided, not sure if she was attempting to assure him about her nerves or herself, “It’s just like I’ve said before, I don’t care to associate myself with pirates, so Captain Sparrow, the sooner you get it into your head that I’m not here to make friends the better, as I’ve said before, I’m here for my sister,” Isabella wasted no time in making sure he knew her intentions. 

Sadly, her confession seemed to do little to spurn his new ideas on friendship between the two of them, and she wasn’t so sure if it had helped her either, “Aye, but who says you can’t do both,” He began, his eyes zeroed in on the town that had come into view again, “You can’t hide that you find something about pirates…  _ irresistible, _ ” Jack leered. 

She scowled at him, “There’s nothing about your life I find irresistible, believe me,” Isabella began, glad that the rowdiness of Tortuga met her ears once more, she’d be able to leave Jack’s side soon enough and escape to the peace of having her own room once more, “I’m here for my sister,” She repeated, looking down at her mug, which was slowly becoming more and more empty. 

Jack slowed his moments just as the boat came up against the dock, “Aye, keep telling yerself that,” He murmured, offering her his hand once more as he climbed from the boat to tether it back to the dock. 

Pointedly she ignored his offered hand and climbed out herself, deciding to wait for him to tether the boat before she started walking back towards their rooms, deciding that she didn’t want to walk through the town this late at night without a male escorting her there. 

It didn’t take too long for them to reach the tavern and Isabella made to make a B-line for her room, and she would’ve if Jack hadn’t stepped in front of her to stop her in her path, “Tortuga everything you hoped for?” He asked, his fingers running up and down the railing of the stairs she was just about to ascend. 

Frowning at the fact she was forced to stop she raised an eyebrow at him, “I suppose it was everything I expected,” Isabella decided, not wanting to confess to him that the town had thrilled her more than anything else had in years, but she didn’t even want to confess that to herself, so she was happy to keep that information to herself… 

“Aye?” He asked, his head dipping as he leaned closer to her, “And what about the people?” He continued. 

She scrunched up her nose and leant backwards so their faces weren’t so close, failing to realize that she’d been backed up to a column that he was easily able to trap her against, “They’re certainly interesting,” She confessed, not liking where the conversation was going. 

Jack’s hand reached out, coming to brush her hair away from her shoulders as he let his fingers gently run through several strands of it next to her face, “Would ye want to know  _ more _ ?” He asked, his face ending up right next to hers again, his nose nearly brushing hers. 

She was sure her face was bright red at that point, and she was sure he would’ve noticed if he weren’t so clearly intoxicated… or she hoped he was intoxicated, of course he would not be so forward with her if he was sober, she managed to convince herself, “I think I’m going to have to decline,” Isabella breathed, her head pressed against the column behind her as she attempted to escape his advances. 

His fingers that had been twined up in her hair had brushed against her cheek as he turned his head to the side, as if to get a better angel, “Once you get a  _ taste _ you’re not going to want to decline,” Jack breathed back, his hooded eyes looking heavier than normal as he moved to lean forwards once more. 

Isabella was quick to duck underneath his arm, letting him fall forwards into the column, his drunkenness clearly showing in their current situation, “I think you’d find better company in some women on the streets,” She chided, feeling her hands start to shake at his previous implications which took her too much time to brush off, “Good night, Captain,” Isabella managed to get out as she watched him straighten himself out, and before he had a chance to respond, she was practically sprinting up the stairs and locking herself shut in her room, giving her much needed space from the captain and the craziness of the night. 

She quickly fell down on her small bed, in hopes that sleep would claim her any minute. But the longer she let her thoughts wander, the longer it took her to realize she wasn’t going to be able to go to sleep anytime soon, not if Jack Sparrow was occupying her thoughts. 

He had been drunk, more drunk than she realized. Of course he’d been flirting with her, but at the same time it had all been harmless, especially because he’d never made her too uncomfortable, but this time was different. She’d never had such a casual conversation with a man who even seemed slightly interested in her, especially not while drinking with him, it was entirely improper! But that wasn’t what frightened her, what frightened her was that she was more scared of her reaction to his advances, she found that she didn’t feel so openly disgusted by what he was trying to get from her, she was more taken aback, shocked really. She was shocked that a pirate would flirt with her, and she was more shocked that she was becoming more used to the antics of pirates, the ones that she was taught to loathe. Despite her and her sister’s curiosity with pirate’s culture and pilgrimages, the more time she spent with Jack, the more she realized she didn’t care too much about how he behaved when she felt like she  _ should _ care. 

Sighing deeply, Isabella shifted in bed, realizing that sleep wasn’t going to come to her anytime soon tonight. So with racing thoughts he made herself comfortable, letting her mind wander as she attempted to figure out what her life was becoming. 


	4. Chapter 4

Isabella woke up to a loud pounding on her bedroom door, she was startled by the noise and nearly fell out of her bed at the noise, but quickly realized what was going on and was able to jump to her feet and run towards the door, “Just a second,” She called out, making sure her clothes were situated as properly as they could be on her body before flinging the door open.

Will was standing on the other side, looking well rested and almost chipper at the prospect of a new day, “Good morning,” He greeted her.

She rubbed at her eyes, not feeling as rested as he looked, but hoping that his energy would be infectious this morning, “Good morning,” She agreed, “Are we leaving?” Isabella asked, leaving her door open as she checked around the room to make sure she had everything on her person… not that she had many effects with her at the moment.

“Yes,” Will told her, “Jack told us to meet him and Mr. Gibbs at the docs as soon as you were awake.”

Isabella returned to the doorway, quickly pushing her hair behind her ears before leaving behind Will, “Has Mr. Gibbs gathered a crew?” She asked, curiously.

Will shrugged, holding open the tavern door for her so she could leave first, “I hope so, seeing as it’s our only way to find Elizabeth before it’s too late,” He said, a hint of urgency in his tone as the two of them walked arm and arm to the docks.

She was happy she was with Will this morning compared to Jack, when she was with Will she felt calm and safe, a complete change from how she felt when she was with Jack, and she was _sure_ she felt more comfortable with Will. It didn’t take the two of them that long to reach the docks, having arrived before Mr. Gibbs and Jack, but there was an odd array of people gathered, she couldn’t help but be curious to who they were.

Isabella was about to get a closer look at the strange group of people when suddenly, Jack’s loud voice came ringing out from behind her, “William, Izzy!” He greeted, his arms wide as he approached, not looking like he’d gotten very drunk last night.

She narrowed her eyes, not liking the new nickname he’d given her but she decided to not say anything about it for now, especially since Jack and Mr. Gibbs looked like they had something to say.

“Feast your eyes, Captain,” Mr. Gibbs introduced, waving a hand out as the group of people lined up so Jack could scrutinize them, “All of them, faithful hands behind the mast, every man worth his salt, and crazy to boot!”

Isabella was able to get a better look at the men lined up in front of them now, and they were an interesting sight indeed, “This is your able-bodied crew?” She asked.

Jack shot her a grin over his shoulder before turning to a man with a scraggly white beard and a parrot perched on his shoulder, “You, pirate!” Jack called, clearly wanting to make a spectacle.

“Cotton, sir,” Mr. Gibbs supplied helpfully.

Jack gave Gibbs a quick nod of thanks before turning back to Cotton, “Mr. Cotton?” Jack continued, “Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?” Jack paced, his face contorting into a frown when Cotton didn’t answer him, “Mr. Cotton! Answer, man!” He demanded, his voice raising into a shout that Isabella had never heard from him before.

Gibbs quickly jumped in, “He’s a mute, sir,” He supplied, “Poor devil had his tongue cut out, so he trained the parrot to talk for him, no one’s yet figured out how,” Gibbs trailed off.

Isabella was glad that Mr. Gibbs had been able to cut in, but she figured that having a mute aboard wasn’t going to make communication easy for them, but maybe it would be easier than she assumed, she’d just have to wait and see.

“Mr. Cotton’s… parrot,” Jack countered, staring down the bird, “Same question!”

The parrot let out a squawk before exclaiming, “Wind in the sails! Wind in the sails!” Leaving Will, Jack, and Isabella very confused.

“Mostly we figure that means yes,” Mr. Gibbs told them.

Jack looked pleased, turning back to face the three of them that weren’t standing in a line, “O’course it does!” He decided, sending a wink Isabella’s way, “Satisfied?” He asked.

Will, thankfully, chose to cut in instead, “Well, you’ve proved they’re mad,” He decided.

Towards the end of the line of men, a more feminine voice rang out, “And what’s the benefit for us?” The person called.

Jack spun around, lowering his gaze to attempt to see underneath the hat that the person was wearing until he had walked right up to her and pulled the hat from her head, revealing another woman, “Annamaria,” Jack greeted, similar to how he’d acted with the two women from the other night.

She wasted no time in whipping her hand straight across his face, in the same fashion as the women had done last night, causing Jack to shoot his head around so he was looking at Will and Isabella again.

“I suppose you didn’t deserve that one either?” Will quipped, a grin on his face.

Jack straightened himself out, shaking his head, “No, that one I deserved,” He explained, leaving Isabella to wonder why this slap was different.

“You stole my boat!” The woman accused, stepping up to the pirate.

“Actually,” Jack began, but was quickly cut off with another slap, “Borrowed,” He hissed between clenched teeth, “Borrowed without permission, but with every intention of bringing it back to you.” Jack explained.

Annamaria was clearly not appeased by his empty promises, “But you didn’t!” She accused.

Jack stepped backwards so he was standing next to Isabella once more, “You’ll get another one,” He offered, his mind running.

Annamaria pointed a slim finger at him, her eyes narrowed in anger, “I will!” She demanded, to Isabella’s amusement.

That’s when she chose to perk up, deciding to ‘help’ the pirate out, “A better one,” She offered, a grin on her face as she noticed Jack’s attention turn to her.

“A better one!” He was quick to agree, one of his hands falling down on her shoulder.

She almost wanted to laugh when Will suggested: “That one,” As he pointed towards The Interceptor still floating out at sea.

“What one?” Jack demanded, his attention turning harshly towards Will, his hand tightening on Isabella’s shoulder. She nudged him pointing towards the Interceptor with Will and Jack allowed himself to calm down a bit, “That one… Aye, that one, what say you?” He asked, turning back to Annamaria, letting his hand fall off Isabella’s shoulder.

“Aye!” His new crew agreed as the lot of them got ready to head off towards The Interceptor.

Mr. Gibbs eyes narrowed as the crew set off towards the dinghys so they could board the Interceptor, “No, no, no, no,” He repeated, running up to Jack’s side as he eyed Annamaria, “It’s frightful bad luck to bring a woman aboard,” He warned, his eyes darting towards Isabella, “Let alone two!”

Jack smirked, “It’d be far worse not to have her,” He confessed, pointing towards Annamaria before turning to Isabella, “And this one’s been aboard for a few days now, nothing bad’s happened yet!” He decided, pushing past Gibbs to secure his own boat.

Isabella and Will stood amongst the bustling pirates getting ready to board their ship, neither of them quite knowing what to do. Will was quickly handed some roped and pushed towards a smaller boat with several other pirates at the same time that Isabella had been pulled to the side by Jack where his boat had been pretty much prepared for him.

“Let’s go Izzy, Captain should be first to board his boat,” Jack decided as he practically tugged her along behind him.

With a look over her shoulder she realized Will was getting ushered into another boat with several men while she was being pulled along by Jack into his boat with just the two of them, “And does the Captain get his own boat?” She asked after he’d helped her sit down.

“Aye, that’s how it generally goes,” He explained, sitting down across from her, “Just thought ye would prefer some more comfort,” Jack said.

Isabella couldn’t help the blush that had come to her face, the words he spoke triggering her memory to what he tried to instigate last night, but clearly he didn’t remember… Or he didn’t care, “I appreciate it,” She offered after a moment.

Jack seemed to bristle at her discomfort as he rowed them to the Interceptor, the side of their small boat hitting the side of the much larger one at that moment, “Up ye get,” Jack instructed, standing on sturdy feet as he held onto the side of the boat where the two of them were set to climb up.

In her attempt to stand she found it was not so easy, wobbling slightly as she attempted to balance on top of the waves the ocean was sending their way until she was able to grab onto the side of the Interceptor in an attempt to steady herself.

“Well?” She asked, quirking up an eyebrow towards Jack as if signaling for him to start climbing.

He gave her a small bow moving out of the way so she was closer to the ladder than she was, “After you, luv, ladies first,” He offered, using his weight to pull their small boat to the side in the water so she was directly in front of the fixture.

Isabella frowned, “I thought the Captain was the first to board his boat?” She asked, studying him quizzically.

He nodded, “Right ye are, Izzy, but who would I be if I didn’t let the lady up first?” Jack countered.

She narrowed her eyes at him, “You’d be a pirate,” She parried.

Jack nodded, a thoughtful look coming onto his face, “Aye, I would be,” And without another word from the pirate, he’d hoisted himself up and scaled the side of his ship, heading aboard before the rest of the crew had even gotten closer.

Isabella went next, pleased that she’d won their little dispute as she followed after him, also happy that this time she wasn’t attempting to scale the boat in unfitting clothing, making it much easier for her this time, until she reached the deck and she was accepting Jack’s hand so he could pull her aboard.

It didn’t take long for the crew to join them after that and the dinghys were quickly raised so they could leave Tortuga for good. Jack had quickly got to work on the ship, commanding his crew with ease and the crew following his orders without thought. Isabella was quickly taken aside by Mr. Gibbs as he attempted to help her with the ship’s duties, trying to teach her how to tie knots and move the ropes for the sails, not that she was much help, but at least it was something.

The crew worked together pretty well from what she could tell, and the majority of them didn’t seem to be too put off by having two women on board, least of all Annamaria. Isabella was happy there was another woman aboard and she was happy to have a conversation with her, even though Annamaria was very much a pirate and Isabella was very much not, it was slightly easier to talk to a pirate who knew what it was like to be a woman.

They had only set sail for a few hours before storm clouds started to roll over. Isabella had been close to the helm where Jack was steering their ship as the first few droplets of water began to fall on them. “D’you think it’s going to be bad?” Isabella asked, not sure who she was talking to with the small group of people that were up at the helm with her.

Jack, unsurprisingly, was the one who responded to her though, the others looking to him anyways, “Aye, we’re sailing straight through a storm, dearie,” He answered, his hands gripping the wheel tightly.

“What are we supposed to do?” She demanded, finding herself standing right by his side in the next moment, curiosity getting the better of her as the rain started to come down harder.

Jack raised an eyebrow towards her as everyone else cleared to head to the main deck, “Keep her steady,” He said as if it was a simple task.

“What should I do?” Isabella asked, raising her voice slightly so he would hear her above the roaring winds that had begun to accompany the rain pelting down on

“You should get below, s’not safe if ye don’t know how to sail,” He instructed, dismissing her without even looking her

Isabella frowned, but of course he didn’t notice her, he only noticed that she wasn’t leaving for below deck, “I want to help,” Isabella insisted, her eyes scanning the ship through the fog that had accumulated around them in a poor attempt to see if there was anything she could

Jack clearly wasn’t amused with her at the moment, “Aye, and you’ll help by getting yerself out of the way,” He insisted, sending her a sharp look before focusing his attention once more on the open

She knew she had to listen to him, he was obviously right, she could barely keep her balance let alone be put to work, she’d just learned how to use the ropes a few hours ago, with a heavy sigh, she turned to leave for below deck, the last thing she wanted to do at the moment, but as soon as she made way to step away from the pirate, a particularly large wave hit one side of the ship, sending Isabella and the rest of the crew off their feet, she was sent tumbling backwards and she was sure she would’ve fallen if it weren’t for Jack releasing the wheel with one arm and securely wrapping it around her, pulling her into his

“Told ya,” He exclaimed above the noise of the wind, his arm still tethering her to

Isabella attempted to move from his side, in hopes that she’d be able to get below deck without falling this time, but his arm was holding her tight, “S’too late now, yer not getting anywhere with the boat rocking like this,” Jack decided, pulling her into the circle of his arms as he trapped her between him and the wheel, “Better hold on,” He instructed as the boat lurched to the side once more, and she definitely would’ve fallen again if it weren’t for him standing sturdy with the help of the

“I can make it,” She argued, deciding if she wanted to dip out from underneath his arm to give it her best shot at getting below deck, but Jack clearly wasn’t happy she didn’t listen to him the first time he ordered her to do something.

“No,” He argued right back, taking a step closer to the wheel so he was caging her in even closer to his body, “Yer staying right here,” He decided just as he spun the wheel sharply to the right in a crazy attempt to avoid another large wave heading their way.

Next thing she knew he was holding his compass out in front of him so that the two of them could both watch it spin around a few times before pointing in the direction that they were already headed, “Still not pointing north?” She asked, hoping he would hear her above all the noise surrounding them.

He shook his head, “Still haven’t figured it out?” He countered.

Isabella frowned when he put the compass away so she couldn’t try to figure it out anymore, and that’s when she noticed Will and Mr. Gibbs had joined the two of them as they hauled a heavy crate up to the helm.

“How can we sail to an island that nobody can find with a compass that doesn’t work?” She could hear Will demand, and she knew that Jack could hear him too.

“Aye, the compass doesn’t point north, but we’re not trying to find north, are we?” Gibbs riddled. Isabella looked over Jack’s shoulder to see the two men as Mr. Gibbs turned to face Jack, a worried frown on his features, “We should drop canvas, sir!” He said.

Jack shook his head, barely sparing Gibbs a second glance, “She can hold a bit longer,” He said with a grin.

“What’s in your head that’s put you in such a fine mood, captain?” Gibbs asked, fighting to stand as the ship lurched again.

“We’re catching up,” The Captain smiled, his hands tightening around the wheel and Isabella could practically _feel_ his excitement.

Isabella watched as Will and Mr. Gibbs finished moving some more crates around and began their descent towards the lower deck. Before Jack could stop her, she was slipping underneath his arm and running after the two men, leaving the Captain by himself at the helm.

With a look back, she could tell he was watching her, but he had made no move to stop her so she continued on her way, gripping tightly onto the rail so she would not lose her balance again and make a fool of herself by falling, “Wait,” She called to the two men she was trying to follow, “I want to help!”

Mr. Gibbs was quick to give her another task amongst the storm and soon enough Isabella was trying down loose ropes, keeping their canvas in place until Jack said otherwise. It was nice to have something to do, she was sure she was going to have a much harder time making herself useful, but this almost seemed to come naturally to her, and once she had something to do, keeping her balance seemed to become like a second thought to her, making it much easier for her to keep her footing while she set about the ship.

There was one point not long after she’d left Jack’s side that she caught him watching her, but as the ship jumped around once more the two of them turned their attention to much more important things at that moment.

She wasn’t sure how long they had been sailing through a storm for, but as soon as she was put to work, the time surely flew by and before she knew it the rain had slowed down to more of a gentle mist and the waves no longer felt like they were going to knock them off their ship, the crew was finally able to relax, but just a little bit. Isabella set to work releasing the knots she’d tied to keep the canvas tied down taught earlier, now that the wind had died down sailing had gotten much easier! She was almost sad to see that even with the clouds now disappearing there wasn’t any sun behind them, it had set and the only thing giving them any light was the moon. Now that there was a whole crew on board, Isabella wasn’t sure what the rules were now that it wasn’t just the three of them, could she excuse herself and just go to sleep… Where would she sleep now that there were more men on board, men she was sure wouldn’t care as much for her propriety as Will and Jack had the previous night.

She knew there were no other places for her to sleep, unless she wanted to get comfortable in the brig, which she did _not_ thank you very much, so she wasn’t really sure what to do at the moment. Jack had claimed the Captain’s cabin, and she just couldn’t bring herself to get comfortable in a room with a bunch of men, so when half of the crew managed to drag themselves below deck to get some rest, Isabella found herself sitting on a crate, leaning up against the railing in an awkward attempt to get comfortable.

Isabella sat still for a little while, happy to be watching Jack’s crew finish up their duties before lumbering downstairs for the night and before long she felt her head lean back against the rail on its own accord and it didn’t take long after that for her to have to force her eyes to not fall shut.

She was too distracted fighting against herself to stay awake that she didn’t notice when someone had joined her on the crate she was perched on top of, “You should get some rest,” Isabella jerked upwards, nearly flinging herself off the crate to see Will sitting next to her, looking concerned for her well being.

Once she relaxed from the startling sight of Will she leaned back against the railing and turned to face him, “I am resting,” She insisted, her eyes feeling heavy as she tried to focus on her conversation with Will.

He frowned, something she managed to see from under heavy eyelids, “This can’t be comfortable, you should get a good night’s rest,” He argued.

With a wave of her hand she dismissed that thought, no matter how good it sounded at that point, “I can’t, there’s nowhere to sleep by myself,” She explained to him.

Understanding crossed his features and she could see the concern on his face, “There must be something-” He began, only to have her cut him off.

“I’ve thought of everything Will, and thank you for thinking of me, but I’m fine,” She insisted, giving his hand a quick squeeze from where it rested on the crate below them, “You should get some rest if one of us can, maybe I’ll get my alone time in the morning,” She offered, hoping he would understand and leave her to her decision to sleep on the deck for tonight.

“What about Annamaria?” He asked, looking around the ship curiously.

Isabella shook her head, “She doesn’t care, she can handle herself anyways,” She continued, looking over the deck that had pretty much emptied itself by the time her and Will had begun their conversation.

He nodded and finally got to his feet, “I hope you can get some rest,” He said before leaving her to herself again.

She silently agreed with him, too tired to do more than that as she let her eyes close once more, somehow managing to fall asleep where she was perched awkwardly on her crate. Isabella wasn’t sure how much time had passed, or if she was even awake, but at some point in the night she felt herself being jostled around before she was pulled up by a pair of warm arms, being cradled against someone’s chest. If she wasn’t so exhausted she would’ve opened her eyes to see what was going on, but the new position she was in allowed her to sink further into sleep, finally feeling even the slightest bit comfortable. Just when she thought she was going to doze off in the person’s arms she felt herself being deposited into a warm bed, which was much more comfortable than the hammock she’d spent the previous night on, and as soon as the covers went over her shoulders she had passed out once more, sleep taking over all of her thoughts.

* * *

Morning came all too quickly for Isabella and it took her way too long to wake up, especially since she felt the most at east since she’d gone on this adventure. When she was finally able to open her eyes it didn’t take her too long to realize she had no clue where she was. Of course she was still on a ship, she could feel that so she figured she was still on the Interceptor, but she’d never been in this room on the ship before! It was a pretty large room, obviously a cabin because she was comfortably tucked into a bed and around the bed there was various pieces of furniture a cabin should have. It was very nice to be in a comfortable bed in a setting she knew she could trust for the most part, but at the same time she had no clue how she’d gotten down here, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep on the deck on top of an uncomfortable crate!

Slowly, Isabella climbed out of the bed, careful to pull the covers back up so it was made once more, before she gave a more careful look around the room. The room was really nice, there was a desk and a small table with a set of chairs, there were a couple of chests too and she would’ve explored a little bit more, but she wanted to get back out on deck to lend a hand once more and see how close they were to her sister.

Before she left the room though, she realized how gross she’d felt in her old clothes, the last time she’d been able to wash herself was only briefly before bed in Tortuga, but she still had to wear the same garments. Not wasting any time she decided to shuffle through the Navy’s drawers to see if there was anything she could put on to stop of issue. Finally she found some new undergarments and a new shirt which would be slightly baggier than her current one, but she’d just wash her old clothes and hope that they would dry quickly out in the sun.

But setting that aside for later, Isabella shoved her old clothes into a small sack she’d found and left them in the corner of the room for later and finally she left the small cabin, hoping that she wouldn’t be somewhere she’d never been on the ship if she left.

What she didn’t expect was to find herself walking straight out onto the deck!

There was only one room that was above deck on most ships, and she knew that to be true on The Interceptor. So, that could only mean one thing, she’d just walked straight out of the Captain’s cabin, and everyone who was on deck at that moment could clearly see her. She was lucky that most of the men didn’t want to talk to her, she wasn’t sure if it was because she was a woman and supposedly good luck, or some other strange reason, but she didn’t care too much to find out, and it certainly made this situation much easier. As soon as she realized her situation she was quick to pull the door shut behind her and skirt away from the cabin as quickly as possible, not wanting any rumors to spread or to get caught there by anyone else.

Wandering around the deck looking for something to do, Isabella let her mind wander, she wasn’t sure what had happened last night, obviously someone had taken her to the Cabin and it was obvious who had done it too. There was only one person on board who would’ve gone in the Captain’s cabin, and that’s the captain… She couldn’t imagine Jack bringing her to his cabin in any honorable manner, but here she was in one piece, clearly untouched.

Her thoughts were running rampant. Jack was the last person she expected to carry her to bed, Will made perfect sense, even Mr. Gibbs, or Annamaria, at that, but Jack Sparrow, the notorious Pirate Captain?

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn’t even notice that she happened to be staring at the very object of her racing mind until a loud bang pulled her out of her stupor. Her eyes zeroed in on the Captain as he turned to send a glare towards whoever had dropped the large box onto the deck that caused the ruckus. Isabella watched him as he turned to shout at whoever had made the mistake before turning and barking out a few more orders to several more of his crew members that had the misfortune of standing near him at that moment.

He was so strange. The more time she spent around him, the more she was able to learn about him, the more confused she became. She was starting to get used to his mannerisms and whatnot, and of course it was easy to adapt to him giving orders left and right, especially because he fell into the role of Captain so easily. However, a pirate being almost _nice_ was one of the last things she expected, and she definitely had no clue how to act around him when he was being like that.

It wouldn’t do her well to dwell on that for too long though, it would only make her more confused, she was only here for her sister, not to have budding friendships with pirates and criminals alike. And that’s what she was going to do, she was going to figure out how far away they were from Elizabeth and hopefully her mind would stop offering her the craziest of thoughts.

Without wasting another second she marched straight over to Jack’s side, deciding that he would be the most likely to have the answers she needed.

When she reached him, Jack was fiddling with his rings and looking around the ship as if to see if everything was running smoothly. “Captain Sparrow,” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

He spun around to face her, his hair flaring out before falling back haphazardly over his shoulders. Jack grinned when he saw her, and he staggered forwards to meet her, “Ah, Izzy,” He greeted, flashing her all of his teeth, “To what do I owe the honor?” He asked, tipping his hat in a mock bow.

She couldn’t help but to roll her eyes at him, but pressed forward, having come to him for answers, “How soon until we reach the Isla de Muerta?” She asked impatiently.

Jack didn’t look surprised at her question, she was sure he expected her to ask it when she purposely marched towards him, “Shouldn’t be much longer now, I expect we’ll be there by sundown,” He told her, “Ye must be getting anxious,” He said, taking a step closer to her.

Isabella scrunched up her nose in disdain, wanting to distance herself from him, especially after her strange morning, “I’m not anxious,” She insisted, “I just want to know my sister is safe.”

She didn’t like the look that had come over his face after she said that, and in the next second, Jack had made a grand display of throwing his arm over Isabella’s shoulders as he pulled her along with him until they were standing at the bow, overlooking the waters in front of them, “Of course she’ll be safe, Izzy,” He agreed, almost like he was comforting her as his hand ran up and down her arm.

Wanting to move to push him away, she awkwardly maneuvered so her elbow was digging into his side, but he just let out a grunt and pulled her closer to him so she didn’t have the same angle and wasn’t able to hurt him, “Alright, so get us there,” She demanded once she realized he had her practically pinned down, “You’ve got the odd compass, you should be steering the ship,” She argued.

Jack was quick to pull out his compass, flashing it to Isabella so she could see that they were heading in the right direction, “I’ll take over soon enough, luv, Cotton can handle himself fer now,” He explained to her as he closed his compass and tucked it back inside his jacket, “Give it a few hours and yer bonnie sister will be back with us in no time,” He declared, almost heroically.

She nearly snorted at that thought, there was nothing heroic about him, he would always be a _pirate_ first and foremost, but she decided to play along with it for the meantime, “And can I ask what your plan is once we get there?” She pushed, hoping he had something in mind.

“Of course ye can,” He declared, “Doesn’t mean I plan on sharing that yet,” Jack finished, his fingers flexing around her arm before he tapped each one up and down once.

With a sneer, Isabella was quick to try and pull away from him once more, if he wasn’t going to tell her what his plan was then there was no point in playing along with him any longer, “If you’re not going to share then let me go,” She demanded twisting away from him to gain her space from him but he was quick to snag her around the waist and pull her back, practically wedging her between himself and the railing so she was forced to look out over the water.

She hoped that no one could see the two of them in their more than compromising position, but now there was really nothing she could do about it, “Ye don’t have to be so _testy_ ,” He teased, “You’ll know how we’re going to get yer sister back in just a few hours.”

Isabella shook her head feeling a chill run down her back as her mind unwillingly reminded her of the similar position the two of them had been in when she first met him, “I’d feel a lot better about out agreement if I knew now,” She argued, wanting to get out of their strange embrace.

Jack’s breath was hitting the back of her ear with how close he’d gotten himself to her at this point, “There’s no point in telling ye now,” He argued back, “But if you insist, young William and I will go ashore, sneak into the tre-” Jack began, but Isabella quickly stopped him.

Without thinking, she threw her elbow backwards, ramming it into his gut and forcing him to double over, releasing her and leaving her to spin around so she was facing him, “Oh no, I’m not going to be left behind, I’m coming with you two,” Isabella demanded, pointing a threatening finger towards the pirate.

Recovering from the quick attack, Jack straightened himself up, “Of course ye are,” He corrected with a grin, “Now that we’re on the same page,” Jack continued, turning on his heel away from Isabella and marching over towards the helm, “Cotton, back on deck!” And before she knew what was happening he had left her to steer the ship once more.

It took her several minutes to realize he’d tricked her into ending their conversation early, he was likely planning on bringing her with them long before this conversation, but it was enough to distract her and allow him to slip away from her before she could press the matter any longer! Sure she could’ve marched up to him and demanded to know more, but he was clearly focused on steering them in the right direction at this point and her desire to know his plan wasn’t greater than her desire for him to at least get them to the island, since he was the only one who could likely do it.

After her strange awakening and too brief conversation with Jack, Isabella couldn’t help but be bored! They were so close to her sister, but there was nothing for her to do on this bloody ship other than clean up after messy pirates. It wasn’t until about three hours after she woke that someone gave her something to do.

“Miss Swann,” She recognized Annamaria’s voice calling out from behind her and she spun around to meet the woman, “Here, you might need this where you’re going,” A long sword was held out directly underneath her nose, nearly touching her.

Graciously, Isabella accepted the sword, she wasn’t used to using a sword, Will had taught both her and Elizabeth the basics, and since Elizabeth had more duties as the older sister, Isabella had more time to practice than she did, so she got to learn a little more than just the basics. She never _won_ a fight against Will, only when he let her win which he would never admit to, but she did consider herself to be quite adept at this point in her training.

“Thank you,” Isabella smiled politely, as she fastened the scabbard around her waist. Turning to continue on with her duties on the ship, she was surprised to be stopped by Annamaria pulling out her own sword and holding it up to the younger girl.

“You should probably learn how to use it before you go running off with it, eh?” She grinned, clearly amused at Isabella’s action.

The younger girl couldn’t help but to smile, she knew that the pirate woman wasn’t trying to be superior to her in any way, frankly, Isabella was sure Annamaria would’ve appreciated having another female to teach her, but she knew from Will’s training she could hold her own in a sword fight. Of course it was going to be different if she was fighting for her sister’s life, but at the same time she knew what she was doing, and Will never went easy on her when she thought that she could handle it. Slowly, she pulled her sword out to hold it against the other woman’s, causing Annamaria to smirk at her courage, clearly Isabella’s more polite manners were very misleading, and even the smallest of acts of rebellion was amusing to most of the pirates onboard. Jack was the only one who didn’t seem surprised at anything she’d done so far, which didn’t surprise her in the slightest, he was more than strange.

“I suppose you’re right,” Isabella agreed, sliding her sword against Annamaria’s in a clearly practiced move, but not one that gave away her skills so easily, a part of her wanted to put on a show, no matter how the others who could see them might react, “Don’t go easy on me.”

Annamaria didn’t even tell her what she was planning on doing, or how to defend herself, clearly she was trying to decipher Isabella’s instincts with a sword, too bad she discovered those a long time ago. When the older woman swung her sword down to Isabella’s right hand side, she was quick to parry, shoving her sword up and away from her body, nearly knocking it out of Annamaria’s hands. Shock was written all over her face, but then she let a smile grace her lips, “You know more than you’re letting on,” She said, and before Isabella could reply, the woman was attacking again, with much more vigor than before.

It took Isabella a few moments to get the rhythm of their fight down, but once she did fighting her felt almost like a dance, one that she’d practiced with Will far too many times. Annamaria mostly stayed on the offensive and she stayed defensive with the occasional jab towards the other woman, but she could tell the point of their fight wasn’t to see how well she could attack, she was seeing if she could defend herself. It was probably for the best if she was going ashore with Jack that she was capable of defending herself too, she knew that the pirate was just in this for his own gain and after what Will overheard she knew he wouldn’t hesitate to betray them both, and clearly Annamaria knew that about him as well. Isabella couldn’t help but appreciate her offer to help teach her how to use a sword, and she was more than happy to have something to do at this point, having been so incredibly bored with what was going on onboard earlier.

By the time Annamaria stopped swinging her sword the two women were drenched in sweat, both panting from their intense fight. The older woman dropped her sword and let it slip back into her belt, extending a hand towards Isabella which she eagerly accepted, “You’ve been taught well,” She said, a grin on her face, “Who’d you learn from?”

Isabella put her sword away once her hand was free from Annamaria’s, “Will taught me, he’s quite good himself,” She added, pointing over her shoulder to where Will had been watching them with pride on his face.

When she turned around to see her friend, she was slightly surprised to find that a small crowd had formed to watch their small fight, clearly impressed with both women who were well matched. Her eyes first laid on Will, who was smiling widely at her, he was clearly proud, as he should be, he was the only reason she was here now and he’d been more than helpful at teaching her how to fight, which he never needed to do. She also noticed various crewmembers looking at her, she hoped that she might’ve proved herself with this fight, proved that she was able to be here, she thought she proved that after all. But then, after she thoroughly scanned the crowd that had formed to watch their fight, her eyes landed on Jack, who was still standing at the helm, but he had clearly watched her with intrigue.

She felt her stomach drop, in dread or excitement she wasn’t sure, but there was certainly a feeling of unease about it, especially when she caught a look at the dark gleam in his eyes. He was riddled with curiosity towards her it seemed, and she _knew_ that couldn’t be a good thing coming from a pirate!

As quickly as she looked at him she turned away, giving Annamaria one more happy smile before practically skipping over towards Will to ask him what he thought about their little fight, “What did you think?” She asked, winking as she did so.

Will nodded as he ran a hand through his long hair, “Very good, you look like you’ve been practicing,” He grinned, running a hand over his own sword.

“Well it’s only because I had a great teacher,” She laughed, sitting down on a large crate next to him, “It’s been a while since we’ve practiced, maybe when we get Elizabeth back we can have another lesson?” She asked, running her hands along her new belt that sat around her waist.

“Of course, maybe I’ll make you your own sword too, it looks like you’ve earned it,” He offered, throwing a friendly arm around her shoulder in a brotherly hug.

A large grin came to her face, this was the happiest she’d been since she came on this adventure and she couldn’t help but to lean further into Will, her face falling at the thought, “Thanks,” She muttered, her mood immediately dropping when her thoughts came back to Elizabeth, “Sorry, I just… right now I need to think of Elizabeth, I shouldn’t be messing around,” She confessed, her guilt starting to rise.

She could feel Will stiffen at her sudden change, “We’re going to get her back, I know it,” He offered her, “Jack said we’ll be there just before sunset, and the sun’s getting real low,” He told her, offering her a small squeeze on her shoulder.

Isabella nodded, “Thanks, Will,” She offered, he hadn’t quite made her feel better, but knowing she was that much closer to her sister gave her some hope at least.

Noticing Mr. Gibbs approach the two of them at that point, she pulled away from Will, “You two, come with me,” He instructed, leading them towards the bow of the ship.

They were quick to follow him until they were looking out over the water, but it wasn’t open waters anymore, they were surrounded by rocks sticking out in all directions, and more wreckage than rocks, “Is this it?” Isabella asked, her eyes wide.

Mr. Gibbs nodded, “Aye, puts a chill in my bones how many honest sailors were claimed by this passage,” He confessed, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the foggy passage.

Will turned, suddenly, staring up at Jack, “How is it that Jack came by that compass?” He asked, narrowing his eyes in curiosity.

Isabella perked up at that, her eyes turning away from their passage as she looked up at Jack who quickly closed his compass when he noticed Cotton staring at it, “Not a lot’s known about Jack Sparrow before he showed up in Tortuga with a mind to go after the treasure of the Isla de Muerta” Gibbs explained, sparing a look back at his captain as well before turning to the two non-pirates, “That was when I met him, back before he was Captain of the Black Pearl.” Gibbs continued.

She perked up at that, he’d never mentioned that he had been Captain of that old ship, but again, there was a lot she didn’t know about him, “He failed to mention that,” She muttered, curiously looking at the pirate captain again before turning back to her companions.

“Well he plays things closer to the vest now, and a hard learned lesson it was,” She was pleased that Gibbs was about to give them a history lesson to Captain Jack Sparrow, but she didn’t know how she felt learning about this from someone other than Jack, at least they were learning it though, she was sure the Captain wouldn’t bother telling them this at all, “See, three days out on the venture the first mate comes to him and says everything’s an equal share. That should mean the location of the treasure too, so Jack gives up the bearings. That night there was a mutiny. They marooned Jack on an island and left him to die but not before he’d gone mad with heat,” The man told them.

Will laughed quietly, “Ah, so that’s the reason for all the…” Will held out his hands, doing an awkward impression of Jack’s strange mannerisms.

Gibbs shrugged, “Reason’s got nothing to do with it,” He continued, leaving Isabella to feel grateful that he was willing to share with them, “Now, when a man in marooned he is given a pistol with a single shot; one shot. Well it won’t do much good hunting or to be rescued… But three weeks of a starvin’ belly and thirst, that pistol will start to look real friendly,” Isabella couldn’t help but gasp at the realization, stifling the noise with a hand over her mouth, “But Jack? He escaped the island, and he still has that one shot. Oh, but he won’t use it though, save for one man. His mutinous first mate,” She couldn’t help but be enraptured by the story Mr. Gibbs was spinning, he was a very good storyteller, and she was more than happy to have some more insight to Jack’s mysterious life.

“Barbossa,” She heard herself muttering.

Mr. Gibbs raised an eyebrow in her direction, but nodded, nonetheless, “Aye,” He agreed.

“How did Jack get off the island?” Will asked, leaning closer to Gibbs and lowering his voice, as if he knew that this was something they probably shouldn’t be talking about.

Gibbs shrugged, “Well, I’ll tell ye, he waded out into the shallows and there he waited three days and three nights till all manners of sea creatures came and acclimated to his presence, and on the fourth morning, he roped a couple of sea turtles, lashed them together and made a raft,” He explained.

Isabella couldn’t help but to lean in closer, her curiosity peaking, “He roped a couple of sea turtles?” She asked, frowning.

Gibbs nodded, “Aye, sea turtles.”

“What did he use for rope?” She asked, not being able to stop herself, this story was just too interesting to her, sure she’d heard stories about the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, but this wasn’t one she or her sister have ever read about.

Just then she heard a loud stomp from behind her, startling her enough to cause her to jump as she turned to face the intruder, “Human hair,” Jack was standing there, face serious as ever, “From my back,” Isabella made a face at the thought of that, surely from the looks of him he couldn’t possibly have that much hair on his back, but she didn’t want to put that much thought into it, shaking the idea from her mind, “Let go of the anchor!” Jack ordered, sending Mr. Gibbs scrambling towards the crew, sharing Jack’s order.

Jack gestured for the two of them to follow after him as he addressed his crew once more, “Young Mr. Turner, Miss Swann and I are to go ashore,” Jack announced, motioning for someone to help them with their boat.

“Captain,” Mr. Gibbs called, “What if the worst should happen?”

Isabella shot a confused look towards Jack as he pondered this question, “Keep to the code,” He decided on after shooting a fleeting glance towards Will.

Gibbs nodded, narrowing his eyes, “Aye, the code,” He agreed.

Her mind was racing… The code, the pirate code was what they had to be referring to, her and Elizabeth had taught themselves about the pirate code, but she couldn’t quite bring to mind which part of the code Jack could’ve been talking about, and she only hoped that she could remember soon enough.

“Ready, darling?” Jack asked, spinning to face Isabella once he was done giving his orders, mockingly holding his arm out to her, “Your dear sister awaits.”

Ignoring his offered arm, she pushed past him, “I’m not your darling,” She hissed at him as she marched towards their vessel to land.

Jack didn’t seem phased by her efforts and followed after her until they reached the edge of the Interceptor where they were supposed to climb down into their small boat, “Ladies first,” Jack offered, extending an arm in a similar fashion to how he’d done when they were escaping Port Royale and when they had boarded the ship earlier, in some strange way this had become a sort of a game to the two of them. 

She resisted rolling her eyes at him, "Captain Sparrow, you're the man with the plan, I insist you go first," She offered, giving him a mock bow as she pulled her belt tighter around her waist before watching him climb over the side of the ship and lowering himself into the boat below. Isabella came next, followed shortly by Will and in the next second they were pushing off towards the island, getting themselves even closer to Elizabeth.

“Care to tell us your plan now?” Isabella asked from where she was perched awkwardly against Will’s side as he tried to row them to the island with his arm around her.

Jack shrugged, shifting around on his bench, “I don’t see why not,” He finally offered, glancing over his shoulder towards the cave they were headed towards, “We sneak in, find where they’re holding the girl, and wait for the opportune moment,” He explained.

Isabella blinked a couple of times, “That’s it?” She managed to ask, feeling as though she was missing something.

“Best to wait for the right moment, luv, can’t do anything if we don’t know what we’re getting ourselves into,” Jack explained, turning around once more to direct Will further into the cave.

Soon enough, Will and Jack had hopped out of their small boat and were pulling it ashore, Will offering a hand to Isabella to help her out once they were docked, “What code is Gibbs to keep to if the worst should happen?” Will asked, turning to Jack as they peered into the cave opening.

Jack had started further into the cave, speaking in a hushed voice as he ushered the two of them along, “Pirate’s code,” Jack said, as if explaining.

Something clicked in her mind in that second, for some reason, what Jack had made Gibbs swear to rushed into her mind at the most _opportune_ moment, “Anyone that falls behind is left behind,” She mumbled, looking up to Jack for clarification.

He spun around to face her once more, his face harboring confusion for a brief moment before he smirked in admirance, “Aye, you know, for such a bleak outlook on pirates you know a lot about us,” Jack grinned as he took another step towards Isabella, nearly towering over her at that point.

“No heroes amongst thieves, eh?” Will asked in a poor attempt to end the uncomfortable situation that had arose between Jack and Isabella.

The pirate’s attention immediately turned to Will, his grin widening, “And you are well on your way to becoming ones,” He shrugged, turning back towards the tunnel but this time he’d slung an arm around Isabella’s shoulders, dragging her along with him, “Sprung a man from jail, commandeered a ship of the fleet, and sailed with a buccaneer crew out of Tortuga,” Jack trailed off once they came upon a small stream of water, turning his head to watch Will stare down at the gold beneath their feet, “And one of you is completely obsessed with treasure.”

She would’ve attempted to fight him off if it weren’t for what he ended up saying to them, his words coming out so fast she barely had time to realize what he was implying about the both of them, and thankfully Will caught on first, catching up to where Jack had pulled her along, “That’s not true,” He argued, “I am not obsessed with treasure,” Will finished.

Hearing Will broke Isabella out of her strange trance that Jack had managed to put her in with his words, “And I am not on my way to becoming a pirate,” She argued, feeling that Will’s argument was scarily lacking conviction.

Jack gave her a quick squeeze around the shoulders, pulling her further into his side, “You’ll see it soon enough,” He muttered, only loud enough for her to hear before he released her and turned to face Will, “Not all treasure is silver and gold, mate,” Jack said, just as he peaked his head out from behind the pile of treasure that the three of them were hidden behind.

Will and Isabella were quick to move to Jack’s side, both of them on either side of them as he moved forward to see what was beyond the gold piled up around them. Isabella nearly gasped at the sight in front of her, there were pirates spread all about the cave and more treasure than she had ever seen in her entire life, and in the center of it all was Jack’s old first mate; Barbossa.

“Gentlemen, the time has come,” He announced, “Our salvation is night! Our torment is near at end!” He called out to his crew.

Just then, Barbossa pulled someone in front of them so that the three of them could see who was hiding next to him, “Elizabeth,” Will breathed, turning to lunge into the opening.

Thankfully, Jack was quick to pull him back, barely making a noise which she was grateful for as Barbossa continued to shout to his men, “For ten years we’ve been tested and tried and each man of you here has proved his mettle a hundred times over and a hundred times again,” He exclaimed to which the men cheered loudly.

Isabella watched on with morbid curiosity as her sister stood proud at the center of the men, holding her head high despite the fearful situation she was in, “Punished we were, the lot of us- disproportionate to our crimes! Here it is,” At that, Barbossa threw open the chest at his feet, revealing a hoard of pieces of familiar gold, “The cursed treasure of Cort’s himself, every last piece that went astray, we have returned, save for this!” Barbossa pulled at the medallion on Elizabeth’s neck.

Will surged forwards once more, “Jack,” He hissed, urging the pirate into action, but Jack just pulled him back down once more, until the two of them were no longer looking over the pile of gold, and Isabella begrudgingly followed their lead.

“Not yet, we wait for the opportune moment,” Jack repeated.

She could tell that Will was getting angry, and she knew herself that she shouldn’t trust Jack, but something was telling her that he wasn’t going to betray them just yet, “When’s that?” Will demanded, “When it’s of greatest profit to you?”

Jack pointed a finger at Will, looking thoughtful, “May I ask you something? Both of you?” He asked, turning to Isabella who was looking hopefully back over the gold towards her sister before Jack’s voice pulled her back to him, “Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me? Do us a favor, I know it’s difficult for you, but please stay here, and don’t do anything stupid,” Jack asked, turning to Will and practically begging him, which she thought was something she’d never see from the Captain.

Before she could ask what he meant he was turning towards her, taking a few steps towards her before his hands were clasped down hard on her shoulders, “And you, your sister will be _fine_ if you just stay put, trust me on this luv,” His voice softened to a near whisper as he approached her.

With wide eyes, Isabella couldn’t help but nod, for whatever reason, she believed him wholeheartedly in that moment, but at the same time she could tell Will did not.

Jack didn’t even wait for her to nod in agreement before he spun around and continued along the edge of the cave, getting closer to the action while Will and Isabella stood still, not quite sure what to do.

Thankfully, their confusion didn’t last long as Will took one more look over the gold before grabbing Isabella’s hand and pulling her along after Jack, “Come on, this is where he betrays us and I’m not leaving without Elizabeth,” He insisted, dragging her along until she caught up with his train of thought.

Even though she was almost positive Jack wasn’t planning on betraying them quite so soon, she nodded and followed Will silently as they caught up to Jack, knowing her best bet would be to stay with her friend, knowing he would do anything to get Elizabeth back.

Will had lifted a large plank just as they made their way up behind Jack and in the next second she was covering her mouth as Will flung the plank against Jack’s head, sending the Captain careening to the ground in a deep sleep.

“Come on,” Isabella urged, stepping around Jack until the two of them had made it around the back of the pirates, so Elizabeth and Barbossa’s backs were to them, the two of them had gotten front row seats to see Elizabeth get slapped across the face by Barbossa, sending her flying to the ground.

Will was quick to move forwards and throw a hand around Elizabeth’s mouth, alerting her sister to their presence, the words ‘opportune moment’ coming to Isabella’s mind and nearly making her smile at the scheme they were able to pull off. Once Will had pulled Elizabeth back into the darkness of the cave the two sisters had a brief reunion.

“You’re alright!” Isabella exclaimed, seeing her sister looking healthy and safe, albeit a little beat up, but she knew it was nothing Elizabeth couldn’t handle.

Elizabeth grabbed Isabella by the shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug, “And you’re here!” She gasped.

“Yes, but we’ve no time for reunions, they’ll know you’re missing soon,” She confessed, wasting no time in grabbing Elizabeth by the hand and trusting Will would hollow them before they charged towards the exit, filing into the small dinghy that they’d taken from The Interceptor. She wanted to be able to say more to Elizabeth, but she wasn’t quite sure _what_ there was to say, this was all so new to her, and she wasn’t quite sure what Elizabeth was feeling at the moment. She wasn’t sure what she should ask her, she wasn’t even sure if her sister wanted to talk about what she went through, it was surely traumatic… unless it was like her experience aboard the Interceptor, and she couldn’t be sure until she worked up the courage to ask her sister about it, but that was for another time, when they were on their way home.

Isabella and Will rowed back to the boat, the three of them sitting in a strange silence, none of them knowing how to go about being in a situation quite like this, since it’s not something that’s talked about too often in Port Royale, but here they were, acting like this was almost normal.

She was quick to shake the thought from her head, she was sure this was just the adrenaline speaking, in her normal mindset she would never consider this to be _normal_ , and now that they had her sister back, they could get back to what normal really was.

Reaching the Interceptor, Isabella allowed herself to relax for a moment, it was done, they’d accomplished what they set out to do, now all that was left was go to home… and she would never have to deal with pirates again.


	5. Chapter 5

“Not more pirates,” Elizabeth groaned as she climbed aboard the Interceptor after Isabella. 

Gibbs was standing closest to them, helping as each of the women climbed back aboard, “Miss Elizabeth,” He greeted once she was fully on board, “Welcome aboard.” 

“Mr. Gibbs?” Her sister asked, hesitating before dropping the man’s hand just as Will climbed aboard the boat behind her, guiding her away slightly with a hand on her back. 

The first mate turned to her then, “Where be Jack?” He demanded, furrowing his brow. 

Elizabeth spun back around, looking between Will and Isabella for clarification, “Jack?” She demanded, “Jack Sparrow?” 

Will turned to face Mr. Gibbs, “He fell behind,” He said simply, leaving Isabella to be happy she didn’t have to answer the question. 

As Will turned to lead Elizabeth away, Gibbs turned to address the crew, “Keep to the code,” He decided after a moment’s hesitation, clearly not expecting Jack to be the one that was left behind.

It was hard to watch Elizabeth deal with her confusion over their situation, clearly she hadn't expected to be saved by a group of pirates, she probably thought that Norrington would be the one coming for her, but here she was... 

Annamaria immediately sprung into action, “Weight anchor!” She shouted, moving about the deck, “Hoist the sails, make quickly, divvies!” She said, heading to the helm. 

As soon as the boat was in motion, Isabella quickly followed after Will and her sister, wanting to have a moment between the three of them, so they could catch up, “How’s your hand?” Isabella asked as soon as she met with the two of them, her hands coming up to grasp her sisters uninjured one. 

Elizabeth nodded as Will began to clean the other one, “It’s been better,” She muttered, giving Isabella’s hands a quick squeeze, “How did you two get here?” She demanded after a moment of silence between the three of them. 

“It’s quite a long story,” Will began, still focused on her cut. 

Isabella moved to sit on the bench next to Elizabeth, wanting to tell her the story, “When you were taken, Father and James were planning on looking for you, but they weren’t quite doing it fast enough, as Will and I would’ve liked,” She began, wrapping an arm around her shoulders so Elizabeth could lean her head on her shoulder, “So we broke Jack out of prison, he helped us take the Interceptor, then we went to Tortuga to get a crew, and then we got you,” She told her, not thinking their story was as interesting as hers must be, “Jack had planned on selling us out once we got to the Isla de Muerta, but Will knocked him out, I’m sure he wanted to try to bargain for the Black Pearl,” Isabella shrugged. 

Elizabeth bit her lip, “What kind of man trades another’s life for a ship?” She asked, using her free hand to attempt to bandage up her damaged one once Will moved away. 

“Pirate,” Will said simply, returning to Elizabeth’s side, “Here, let me,” He offered, taking the bandage and wrapping it securely around her hand. 

“What happened to you?” Isabella asked, interrupting the moment that could’ve been between her sister and Will, but she was selfish at the moment, happy with their victory. 

Her sister turned to face her, “When the pirates came to Port Royal, Estrella told me that they’d come for me because I’m the governor’s daughter, we had no idea where you were, of course, and when they attacked our home I hid until I was captured by two pirates,” Elizabeth began, “They took me aboard and I wasn’t thinking, I gave them Will’s name,” She turned to face him briefly before coming back to the story, “That’s when they became very interested and I was taken with them, to the Isla de Muerta, but- they were horrible, cursed, actually, they can’t die,” She explained. 

“Can’t die?” Isabella pressed, curious to learn about the strange curse. 

She nodded, “They’re cursed, in the moonlight, they change,” Elizabeth told them, clearly not wanting to talk about it too much. 

“You said you gave my name to Barbossa, why?” Will asked, furrowing his brow. 

Elizabeth’s eyes shot to his, “I told you-” She was cut off with a wince when Will tied a knot too tightly around her hand. 

“I’m sorry,” Will winced as well, clearly not happy with himself, “Blacksmith’s hands, they’re rough,” He looked bashful and Isabella couldn’t help but think it was a sweet moment he was sharing with her sister. 

“No,” Elizabeth argued, shaking her head, “I mean, yes, they are, but don’t stop.”   


Isabella quickly shot to her feet, even though Elizabeth was her sister, she wanted the two of them to have some time to themselves, maybe at this point one of them would confess their feelings for each other and she wouldn’t have to return to Port Royal to watch them pine over each other, “I’m going to go see if there’s anything I can help with, I don’t know about the both of you two but I’d like to be as far away from here as possible as soon as possible,” She began, heading for the cabin door, “But I’ll give you two some time. Will, make sure my sister is patched up,” She grinned before leaving them alone, heading out on deck. 

The crew was busy trying to get the ship in motion again with Annamaria giving orders once more, and without even having to ask, Isabella was put to work once more, helping Cotton and a few more men hoist the sails so they could set off and get themselves as far away from the island as possible. 

It didn’t take long before the Isla de Muerta was getting farther and farther behind them, leaving the cursed pirates far behind them, which made Isabella feel much more relaxed, “So, would you be able to drop us back off near Port Royal?” She asked once she found herself standing by Annamaria’s side. 

The woman looked over at her, “You’ll forgive me if I don’t want to get too close to that place, they don’t take too kindly to pirates,” She frowned, wrinkling her nose, “We can take you to a nearby port though, get you passage,” She affirmed. 

Isabella smiled, their adventure was almost over, “Thank you, and congratulations on your new ship,” She offered, sending a grin the pirate’s way. 

Annamaria turned to face her, a smile on her face, but in the next second it dropped, her eyes narrowing on something in the distance, “What’s that?” Annamaria breathed, looking towards the island they’d just left. 

Isabella spun around on her heels, turning to see whatever it was Annamaria was looking at, and once she did she felt her heart drop. In the distance there was a ship and it looked like it was gaining on them, and the reason she knew it was gaining on them was because she saw the black sails raised high, there was no way they’d be able to outrun the Black Pearl. 

“It’s the Black Pearl,” Isabella responded, turning back to the pirate with wide eyes, “They’re coming for us.” 

In the next second, Annamaria and Mr. Gibbs were shouting orders at the crew, running all over the place, “Hands aloft to loose t’gallants!” Gibbs called, “With this wind at her stern she’ll carry every sail we’ve got!” He continued, forcing some men to start getting their ship moving at top speed again. 

Just then, Isabella spotted Elizabeth and Will leaving the cabin, most likely having heard the commotion onboard, “What’s happening?” Elizabeth asked, running up to Isabella. 

“The Black Pear is gaining on us,” She told her sister, hurriedly.

Elizabeth’s eyes went wide, “This is the fastest ship in the Caribbean,” She said, turning her head to see if what Isabella was saying was really true. 

“You can tell them that after they’ve caught us,” Annamaria quipped, after she’d thrown another order towards the crew. 

Isabella watched as her sister’s eyes lit up, “We’re shallow on the draft right?” She asked, turning to Annamaria. 

She knew what her sister was doing, and immediately Isabella was able to catch on to the idea that was brewing in Elizabeth’s mind, “We can lose them amongst the shoals!” Isabella exclaimed, her excitement brewing at the thought of  _ finally _ being able to help with something thanks to Elizabeth! 

Mr. Gibbs, who had been listening in on their conversation nodded, “We don’t have to outrun them for long, just long enough!” He decided, nodding to the women. 

“Lighten the ship, stem to stern!” Annamaria called, the crew immediately springing into action and turning changing their course in a second. 

Gibbs was taking charge once more, “Anything we can afford to lose, see that it’s lost!” He called. 

The Black Pearl was very clearly gaining on them at that point, and Isabella watched as they opened their cannons, getting ready to fire. On the Interceptor barrels were being thrown overboard and soon enough they were rolling their cannons towards the edge too, as if those were going to be next, “No, not the cannons!” She called, stopping two pirates from throwing one off not a second too soon, “We’re going to need those,” She decided, pointing out towards the Black Pearls that was clearly ready to attack. 

“It was a good plan up till now!” Annamaria cursed, looking between the three of them for any more ideas. 

“Gibbs, we have to make a stand, we have to fight!” Will called, “Load the guns!” He demanded, hollering his order out towards the crew. 

“With what?” Annamaria demanded. 

Isabella cursed, they’d practically thrown all of their ammunition overboard, “Anything at all, anything we have left, silverware, dishes, anything that can fit!” She ordered, knowing it wouldn’t do them much good, but at least it was something. 

Gibbs nodded, “Load the guns, take shot and langrage!” He called, “Nails and crushed glass, with a will!” He enforced, leaving Isabella to feel pleased that he was following her orders and not second guessing either herself or Will, clearly they had been able to prove themselves onboard, and it looked like Elizabeth was quickly making a name for herself as well. 

He didn’t waste too much time before he was turning back to Isabella and Will, “The Pearl is going to luff up on our port quarter, she’ll rake us without ever presenting a target!” 

Isabella cursed under her breath, a habit she would have to make sure to rid herself of once they were back in Port Royal, but her mind was racing, she didn’t know what they could do! 

“Lower the anchor on the right side,” Elizabeth said after a  moment of silence from the rest of them. No one said anything, the idea was crazy, but so crazy that it might actually work for them, “The starboard side!” She continued, as if trying to snap them into action. 

“They’ll never see it coming,” Isabella finally said, as if causing the other around them to move into action. 

Annamaria looked between Isabella, Elizabeth and Will briefly before shaking her head, “You’re daft, lady, all of you are,” She finally said. 

Gibbs nodded in agreement, “Daft like Jack!” He agreed with a smile. 

Isabella wasn’t sure how she felt about him saying that, she was sure they weren’t anything like Jack, they were just reacting to what the circumstance called for, and as Elizabeth said earlier, none of them would ever trade someone’s life for a ship! Jack was a different kind of daft than she could imagine, he was a pirate, and that was something she’d never succumb to, especially with a life as grand as hers back in Port Royal. 

She barely even heard Gibbs yelling the new orders to the crew as everyone got ready for the fight that was coming to them, her thoughts were overpowering her mind once more and she didn’t know what to do about it. She’d been avoiding thinking about Jack since her and Will had left him on the island, she couldn’t help but feel bad about it, but at the risk of getting her sister back it didn’t matter to her that much, she just couldn’t help but feel bad at the way that it had happened to him.

Their boat lurched when Annamaria let go of her wheel, knocking Isabella out of her mind immediately, which she was more than grateful for, and it was perfect timing too, she recognized that the Pearl was about to fire on them the second she came too again, and before she knew what was happening, she was turning around and shouting “Fire!” At the top of her lungs. 

The two ships began firing at each other almost immediately, causing both crews to duck for cover at the cannons and Isabella found herself back by Gibbs’ side, looking to him for more ideas, but he was doing the same, “We could use a few more ideas, lass,” He asked, his hand falling heavy on her shoulder. 

“Your turn, pirate,” Isabella countered once Will and her sister joined them. 

“We need us a devil’s dowry,” Gibbs said, eyes wide. 

Just then Annamaria turned to point her gun at Elizabeth, “We’ll give them her!” She said, her face hardening. 

“No, we will not!” Isabella countered, wishing she had a gun to pull out at Annamaria in retaliation. 

“She’s not what they’re after,” Will argued, pulling Elizabeth to his side. 

Elizabeth’s hand went to her neck in the next second, “The medallion!” She gasped, turning back towards where her and Will had been holed up together earlier. 

“Find it,” Isabella enforced, knowing that was the only thing that would’ve kept them alive. 

The medallion was clearly important to the pirates, she learned that when she saw Elizabeth getting cut open over it, and clearly her blood was important, or they thought it was because she was a Turner, it was Will’s blood that was important, but the pirates on the other ship didn’t know that, and there was no going back now. 

Will immediately jumped into action, running to go look for the medallion just as the Black Pearl bared down on them. Isabella turned to the side to see the Pearl’s crew swinging over to their ship, attacking their crew as soon as they landed. 

Isabella wasted no time in pulling out her sword and cutting down an undead pirate, but she couldn’t believe what she was seeing, they were just getting back up like their injuries weren’t bothering them in the slightest, other than a momentary stall in their motions. 

She quickly resorted to other methods of attack, they weren’t able to die it seemed, but it was easy enough to push them overboard when there was a moment of distraction, and that was what she was going to have to do when she had the chance. 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a familiar set of braids pulling her sister aside. Jack had somehow gotten himself out of the mess they’d left him in and was fighting amongst the two crews again, she wasn’t sure whose side he was on at this point either, and she didn’t have time to dwell on the thought before another pirate was swinging his sword at her. 

There was so many of them though, and they couldn’t die! She’d managed to push one or two overboard before her sword was knocked from her hands and she was being hauled backwards by two strong arms, her body being pulled backwards away from the fight, “No!” She called out, noticing most of the crew had been restrained at that point as well. 

Her eyes landed on Elizabeth who had not been captured yet, but looked like she was about to be, since she was just sitting there, trying to move the mast that had fallen on top of the gate to the cabins below. Isabella called her name once she realized that she wasn’t going to save herself, she was working at something, but she couldn’t tell why. With a quick look around the boat to see if Will was restrained yet, she noticed he was nowhere to be seen! 

Isabella immediately shot her eyes back to Elizabeth, and she knew why her sister was trying so hard to pull the mast away from the floor; Will was trapped! 

In the next second, Elizabeth was being pulled away from Will by a large man and their crew was being hauled over to the Pearl against their will. 

Until she was aboard the Pearl she pulled against the pirate restraining her, and he clearly didn’t appreciate that too much, he wasted no time in shoving her to the deck once they were safely aboard the Pearl, causing her to fall hard on her hands. 

She cursed under her breath and moved to stand up before she was roughly pulled up once more and moved in place next to the rest of the crew. She was one of the last to be tied up, her and Elizabeth were maneuvered so they had a perfect view of the Interceptor sinking in the distance, the ship that Will had failed to escape from. 

The ropes around them weren’t as tight as they should be, and Isabella watched as Elizabeth moved around underneath them in an attempt to free herself. Again out of her corner of her eye she got another glimpse of Jack, he was standing with the Pearl’s crew, but he didn’t look like he quite belonged there, his eyes darting nervously back and forth. She was just about to look away from him when his eyes darted towards hers and he raised an eyebrow before hurriedly looking away from her. 

She wanted to question him, but at the same time the last thing she wanted to do was talk to him, she had no way of knowing if he was upset with her and Will and she was sure she wouldn’t want to see him if he was upset, but he wasn’t looking at her any longer and she her attention was drawn back to the Interceptor as Elizabeth slipped underneath the ropes and surged forwards. 

Just then their old ship went up in flames, “Will,” Elizabeth called out, “You’ve got to stop it! Stop it!” She demanded. 

With the ropes loose Isabella found she could easily slip out as well to help her sister, but before she even had a chance to she was being held back by a strong grip on her wrist, keeping her pinned against the mast. 

Her eyes shot towards the hand holding her in place and she quickly followed the arm up to find that Jack was holding her back, his ringed fingers digging into her arm as he squeezed her in warning. When she looked up at him again he was shaking his head as if to tell her not to do anything stupid, and for some reason she found herself listening to him.

His grip on her wasn't too tight but it was enough to keep her in place, she was almost thankful to have that small warning to keep her grounded in this situation too, not that she'd ever admit that willingly after they got out of their dangerous situation. 

“Welcome back, Miss,” Barbossa began, walking towards Elizabeth who was still free from any restraint, “You took advantage of our hospitality the last time, it holds fair now that you return the favor,” The pirate wasted no time in pushing Elizabeth backwards so she stumbled into his crew and was quickly grabbed as the eager pirates realized what their captain was implying. 

Without wasting a second, Isabella quickly ducked under the ropes, intending to help her sister get out of her horrible situation by any means necessary, but once she cleared her initial restraint she was pulled backwards by the strong grip that Jack still had on her arm. 

“Let me go!” She hissed, trying her best to ignore Elizabeth’s shouts of fright. 

Jack, of course, didn’t listen to her, she could barely remember a time that he had. Instead, he gave a sharp tug on her arm, causing her to practically fall into his side, his body concealing her enough so that it looked like she was still tied up with the rest of her crew. 

Thankfully, Isabella didn’t have another chance to argue her freedom from Jack because before she knew it, there was an unexpected visitor onboard the Pearl, one she had been dreading to think was dead, “Barbossa!” Will’s voice carried easily over the ship from where he stood on the railing, practically commanding the attention of the entire crew below him. 

The pirates manhandling Elizabeth stopped in confusion as well, and Isabella could see the look of pure relief on her sister’s face, she was sure it matched her own look of relief! 

Will was quick to pull out a pistol, gesturing towards Elizabeth with it before pointing it as Barbossa, “She goes free,” He demanded, his eyes quickly scanning the deck, clearly looking for her as well, “And Isabella,” He demanded once she shifted further away from Jack so he had a better view of her. 

Barbossa gave each of the women a quick glance, staring as Isabella a little bit longer as if just noticing her, before he turned back to face Will, “What’s in your head, boy?” He demanded with a sneer. 

“They go free!” He demanded once more, his gun still pointed strongly at Barbossa. 

Barbossa let out a laugh, his crew following in his footsteps, “You’ve only got one shot, and we can’t die,” He explained. 

Jack’s fingers tightened around Isabella’s wrist, and for the first time she was sure he was a little bit nervous, especially since he wasn’t the one who was playing the board right now, Will was in control, “Don’t be stupid,” Jack muttered, his eyes darting around once more before pulling Isabella back to his side. 

Will looked hesitant for a brief moment before putting the gun under his chin, “You can’t, I can!” He shouted. 

“Like that,” Jack finished, a sigh leaving him. 

She could see his mind racing, he was clearly trying to come up with some way to get himself out of her situation but from what she could tell there was nothing he could do about it, at the moment anyways… 

“Who are you?” Barbossa finally decided on, his eyes narrowing. 

Jack was quick to surge forward, clearly wanting to hide Will’s identity, which confused Isabella even more, “No one,” He called quickly, moving so Isabella was shifted behind him again even as she was pulled forward with him, “He’s no one, a distant cousin of my aunt’s… nephew twice removed, lovely singing voice though, Eunuch,” Isabella would’ve laughed if it weren’t for the dire situation that they’d found themselves in. 

Will didn’t even bother sparing Jack a second glance as he stood down Barbossa, “My name is Will Turner! My father was Bootstrap Bill Turner, his blood runs in my veins!” He confessed, clearly relishing in  _ not _ listening to Jack. 

One pirate stepped forwards, his head cocked to the side, “He’s the spitting image of ol’ Bootstrap Bill, come back to haunt us,” He said, almost shakily. 

Will pushed the gun further into his own chin, “On my word, do as I say or I’ll pull this trigger and be lost to Davy Jones’ Locker!” He demanded once more. 

Barbossa threw his arms out in a grand gesture, “Name your terms, Mr. Turner,” He grinned. 

Will was pointing towards Elizabeth once more, “Elizabeth goes free, and Isabella!” He repeated. 

The Captain only rolled his eyes at that, “Yes, we know that one, anything else?” He asked, almost mocking him.

From his position in front of her, Isabella could see Jack gesturing towards himself, he obviously wanted Will to bargain the Black Pearl over to him, but Will was far from the right place of mind to be thinking of Jack’s wants, “And the crew, the crew are not to be harmed,” He called, pointing out towards the pirates that Isabella had actually come to enjoy the company of. 

She couldn’t see but she was sure Barbossa was grinning widely, “Agreed,” He said, motioning for Will to climb down from the side of the ship, which he willingly did after a moment. 

Barbossa quickly shook Will’s hand and then he was quick to run over to Elizabeth and free her from the grip of the pirate’s restraining her from behind. 

“Gents, you know where to go,” Barbossa called, marching towards his prisoners who were mostly still tied up at the mast, with the exception of Elizabeth, Jack, and Isabella herself. 

Once Will made sure Elizabeth was safe the two of them came to Isabella’s side, quickly checking over her to make sure she was alright after Jack had let her go just a moment before she was joined by the duo. 

Jack was quick to disappear after that, he ran off somewhere on the ship, most likely looking for a way to get himself out of the strange mess they’d found themselves in, and leaving the three people that weren’t pirates to their own devices. 

After a few moments of not knowing what to do, Isabella moved to untie some of their crew on the mast but as soon as she tried to release them, she was being pushed backwards by a large hand on her shoulder, shoved so hard that Will had to catch her to keep her from falling, “We’ll get to them, girl,” The pirate that had pushed her backwards spat at her before leaving the three of them alone again. 

It was almost an awkward situation that they’d found themselves in, they were the only three ‘prisoners’ that were untied but they were left to stand in the middle of the ship’s deck without having anything to do. Will and Elizabeth were left in an awkward embrace, the two of them quietly whispering to each other, which left Isabella to herself for the moment, unsure of how to go about their situation. 

She wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not but in the next moment she was being grabbed again, something she’d started to grow extremely tired of, and she was being pulled away from Elizabeth and Will, who had also been grabbed, and brought towards Barbossa. 

“Stop!” She demanded, trying to rip her arms out of the pirate’s grip behind her, but it was practically impossible. 

Her and Elizabeth were dragged over to the side of the Pearl while Will was pulled backwards and out of sight. Out on the horizon, there was a small strip of land, a small island from what she could tell, and she wasn’t sure what they were doing there, maybe there was something Barbossa needed to get first before he let them all go. Despite wanting to remain optimistic, the tight grip on her arms the man behind her had on her told her that this wasn’t going to work out in her favor. 

It didn’t take long before Barbossa’s crew was dropping anchor and the Pearl was floating a good distance away from the quiet island. Elizabeth was holding her head high, not fighting too much against the man behind her, she clearly figured out what was going on and had accepted her fate at the moment. 

Before either of them could do anything, Elizabeth was being pushed forwards and straight onto the plank, standing directly over the waters below. 

“Go on poppet, walk the plank!” One of the pirates teasingly called out to her sister. 

She was sure words of disagreement were spewing from her lips because after a moment a dirty hand was clasped over her mouth, effectively shutting her up and forcing her to just watch Elizabeth accept her fate. 

Just then Will surged forward, pushing himself out in front of the pirates to get to Elizabeth, “Barbossa you lying bastard,” He cursed, “You said she’d go free!” It took barely a second before Will was being grabbed and gagged and pulled out of the way of the commotion. 

“Don’t dare impugn my honor, boy,” He growled, approaching Will, “I agreed she’d go free, but it was you who failed to specify when or where! Though it does seem a shame to lose something so fine, don’t it lads?” The Captain turned back to face Elizabeth, looking lecherous, “I’ll be having that dress back before you go,” He grinned, causing the rest of the crew to laugh. 

Isabella’s jaw would’ve dropped if it weren’t for the gross hand over her mouth, first her sister was being marooned and now humiliated, and she was sure she was going to be next! Elizabeth took off her dress with as much humility as she could muster. 

Just then she heard Jack speaking behind her, most likely to the pirate holding her, “I always liked you,” he said in a whisper. 

The hand was removed from her mouth, most likely to give Jack a warning shove or something of the sort before he’d grabbed her again, but not over the mouth, which was much appreciated. 

“It goes with your black heart,” Elizabeth spat from her place on the plank as she threw the dress back into Barbossa’s arms. 

He grabbed it and pulled the dress to his face, “It’s still warm,” The pirate said with a slimy grin, moving back to watch Elizabeth jump into the waters below. 

Elizabeth turned back to face the waters, the rest of them watching with wide eyes. Isabella was nervous, she knew Elizabeth could swim, but she didn’t know what was waiting for them on the island, she had no clue what they were to expect there, and it was most likely just going to be the two of them marooned there by themselves! 

A scream left her mouth when Elizabeth was forcefully propelled off the plank and straight into the waters below. It didn’t take long for Isabella to be pushed forwards until she was standing out on the wooden board as well. She was grateful to see Elizabeth treading water below her, but her nerves were almost making her shake, she wasn’t sure how they were expected to survive this. 

“You’re next, girl,” Barbossa called out from behind her as she was urged out onto the plank, “Any last words?” 

She turned to face the crew, the sight was a lot more frightful than she ever could’ve imagined, but of course there was nothing for her to say, she was just a victim of circumstance. Looking down at the waters below she wasn’t sure what to do, she thought she should just jump so she could get this over with and stop the humiliation of the situation. 

It didn’t take long for Barbossa to get annoyed with her silence, “Get on with it,” He snarled. 

Isabella turned back to face the waters where Elizabeth fell but before she could jump she was being stopped by the sound of another voice, “You really don’t want her jumping, mate,” Jack’s familiar voice came ringing out as he stepped forward, drawing attention to himself once more. 

She spun around on her heels, brow furrowed at the pirate’s attempt to defend her. Sure she didn’t want to jump, but she didn’t want to have any reason to be stuck on this ship either. 

“Oh?” Barbossa asked, rolling his eyes and turning to Jack, “And why’s that?” 

Jack had walked right up to Barbossa’s side, throwing a friendly hand on his shoulder, “She’s more help than harm, that one, good pair of hands to have on a ship, pleasant to look at too,” Jack began, sending a wink her way, which she grimaced at, not appreciating his attempt to save her, “She’d make a fine addition to your crew,” He finished.

Barbossa was quick to shove Jack’s hand off of him, sending a glare it’s way, “I see,” He mused, looking between Isabella and Jack several times before letting his gaze stay on Jack once more, “And I’m supposed to take your word about her just like that?” He asked, furrowing his brow. 

Jack nodded, “When have I ever steered you wrong,” He replied, with a small shrug.

Isabella was watching the two pirates curiously, she was sure that she was going to end up jumping, she would rather be with her sister than on board with a bunch of pirates, but maybe there was a reason Jack needed her to stay, maybe it would help save her sister… She never knew with the pirate, he always seemed to be ten steps ahead of everyone else in his plans, and maybe this was just another one of his crazy schemes. 

“I’ll tell ye what,” Barbossa began, this time clasping his hand on Jack’s shoulder, “She’s going to jump, and yer going to follow, just like ye did all those years ago, and I’ll give ye your pistol,” Barbossa pulled out Jack’s gun which was wrapped in white cloth and held it in front of him, “And I’ll let you be the gentleman that saves the lady when it gets to be too much,” He said with a grin. 

Jack looked floundered, like that was the last thing he expected to happen and then the attention was on Isabella once more, “Jump,” Barbossa repeated, clearly growing impatient with the theatrics. 

She immediately spun around, not wanting to have to stare down any more pirates for the moment. She could see Elizabeth in the distance swimming towards the island, she wasn’t surprised she didn’t wait for her, it was definitely going to be tiring swimming all the way over to the island, she wasn’t excited for it. 

With a quick glance behind her she noticed Jack’s hands being bound as he stood there, as if he’d accepted his fate, and so she decided to accept her. Before anyone could push her off like they had done with Elizabeth, she was jumping, and the next thing she knew she was hitting the icy water, coming up to see the large boat looming above her.

She wasn’t sure if she should wait for Jack to jump, he was the one with bound hands at the moment and she didn’t want him to drown because of it, but at the same time she feared the longer she tread water the harder it would be to find the island she was being marooned on. She had an idea what direction it was in at the moment, but seeing above the waves around her was hard at the moment. 

Just as she started to swim away from the Pearl she saw a white package being thrown into the waters next to her and then Jack was diving in next to her, cutting through the water with ease. 

He emerged next to her after a moment, shaking the water out of his eyes and managing to float despite his bound hands, she was quick to meet up with him, pulling his wrapped up gun away from him and starting to work on his hands, “Here, let me,” She demanded, somehow managing to keep her head above the water as she pulled the ropes off of his wrists, making it easier for him to swim. 

“Thanks for the help, luv,” Jack managed to grin once his hands were free, grabbing his pistol back and treading in the water next to her. 

She didn’t respond, there wasn’t much to say at the moment, especially because all she wanted to do was get to land so she wouldn’t have to tire herself any longer. Once she started swimming she could hear Jack next to her, moving alongside her and keeping her pace which she was grateful for, until they reached the island, a few steps behind Elizabeth. 

Once the three of them were standing together, Jack straightened up to look back at the Pearl leaving them in the distance, “That’s the second time I’ve had to watch that man sail away with my ship,” He growled. 

Isabella was quick to hug Elizabeth to her, giving her the jacket off her own shoulders in an offer of some coverage, since she was dressed in practically nothing, at least Isabella had her own shirt and pants still. Jack was still staring out at the ship once the sisters were done embracing, his face unreadable. 

“You were marooned on this island before, weren’t you?” Elizabeth asked after a moment, moving so Jack was forced to face them once more, “So we can escape the same way you did then!” She exclaimed, sounding more hopeful than Isabella felt. 

After hearing the story of how Jack had escaped the island before she was sure she was hearing a lie, but she didn’t care to divulge further into the story before now, but now that they were stuck here, it was only fair that they found out the real story behind his escape. 

Jack had started off away from the beach and towards the jungle after that, forcing the two women to follow after him, “To what point and purpose, young missy?” Jack mocked, not even bothering to look over his shoulder at the two of them to make sure they were following him, “The Black Pearl is gone and unless you have a rudder and lots of sails hidden in that bodice,” He paused to glance at Elizabeth for a brief moment, “Unlikely- Young Mr. Turner will be dead before you reach him,” He finished, scanning the beach as if looking for something. 

Jack turned to a nearby tree and knocked a few times before continuing on his strange quest, “But you’re Captain Jack Sparrow,” She demanded, “You vanished from under the eyes of seven agents of the East India Trading Company. You sacked, Nassau Port without even firing a shot, are you the pirate I’ve read about or not?” She continued, running around him so he would be forced to face him again just as he started jumping on the beach. 

Elizabeth’s tactics clearly weren’t working in their favor with the Captain, so Isabella decided to just try to get straight to the point, “Jack?” She asked, causing him to turn and face her now, his back to Elizabeth once more, “How did you get off the island the first time?” She asked, brow furrowed, almost scared to hear the real story. 

“Last time,” He repeated, narrowing his eyes at her before he turned back to the ground he was jumping on a moment before, “Last time I was here for a grand total of three days, alright?” He leant over and brushed some sand out of the way before lifting up a large trap door buried in the beach, “Last time the rumrunners used this island as a cache. Came by, and I was able to barter a passage off. From the looks of things, they’ve been long out of business. Probably have your blood friend Norrington to thank for that,” He said as he climbed out of the hole in the ground, three bottles of rum in his arms. 

He passed one to Elizabeth who looked taken aback before handing another to Isabella, “Drink up, deary,” He grinned, clinking his bottle against hers, “This is the only thing that’s going to make our last few days alive bearable at most,” Jack whispered so Elizabeth couldn’t really hear him. 

Her sister cleared her throat, catching their attention once more, “So that’s it then?” She demanded, forcing Jack to turn back around to face her, the bottle of rum in her hands being flung around carelessly, “That’s the secret grand adventure of the infamous Jack Sparrow? You spent three days lying on a beach, drinking rum?” Isabella agreed with her sister’s frustration, but she knew that letting it out at the moment wouldn’t do them any good. 

“Welcome to the Caribbean, luv,” He grinned before turning around and marching back out towards the beach, clearly set on drinking himself into oblivion. 

Elizabeth looked like she was going to follow after him, but Isabella was quick to stop her sister, “He’s not worth it, Liz,” She breathed, the bottle of rum in her hands looking more and more appealing as time passed by, “We need to try and figure a way off this island, it’s our only chance at saving Will,” She reasoned, her mind running with ways that they could get help. 

Elizabeth shook her head, “Yes I know, it’s just so frustrating,” She groaned, “He’s supposed to be legendary, and he’s  _ not _ ,” Her sister frowned, gesturing towards Jack who had plopped himself down on the beach and immediately started to get to work on his bottle, not even sparing them a look back at the moment. 

She was sure he’d get bored enough by himself eventually and come back to try to goad the two of them into another conversation, she just hoped that they’d be able to come up with a solution for their problem at that point and be able to distract him well enough in his drunken stupor, “I know, it’s very frustrating,” Isabella rolled her eyes, tearing her gaze away from Jack’s figure sat out on the beach, “But we need to think of something, there might be something down in the cellar,” She decided, turning back to where Jack had cleared off the latch before setting her rum down next to it and opening the hatch once more, “I’m just going to look through here quickly,” She told her sister who had resigned to crossing her arms over her chest, still barely holding onto the bottle of rum Jack had given her. 

Isabella scrambled down the stairs that led into the cellar, scouring every single part of the tiny area in hopes that there would be something other than the copious amounts of rum that was stashed away there, but there wasn’t, and she found herself going back up empty-handed. 

“It’s just rum,” She breathed to her sister, plopping back down on the beach, her legs dangling in the cellar as she let herself collapse on the beach. 

Elizabeth was quick to sit down next to her, “That’s all there is?” Her sister clarified, her bottle discarded next to Isabella’s bottle. 

She nodded in response, “Yes, I’m pretty sure, there’s not much else that rum can do other than get us drunk enough to forget where we are, which might be what we need at the moment,” Isabella said with a dry laugh, the morbidity of their situation setting in. 

“Perhaps that’s what we need right now,” Elizabeth sighed, the two of them falling into an awkward silence as they thought about their situation. 

Isabella chuckled, “Father and Norrington must be looking for us right now, I’m sure there’s a whole fleet searching these waters. I didn’t tell him I was leaving with Will and Jack when I left you know? They all believed that we had been taken together, I never let anyone know,” She explained to her sister. 

Elizabeth let out a little laugh at that as well, “Of course you wouldn’t, and I’m sure they are, hopefully we’ll be able to survive long enough for them to find us,” She breathed, running a hand through her tangled hair. 

Suddenly, an idea popped into Isabella’s mind, it was a little crazy, but it was their only option at the moment, “Rum’s flammable,” She muttered, her mind racing, “Father and Norrington, they’re bound to be looking for us and there’s no way they wouldn’t see smoke from a fire if we light one big enough,” Isabella decided, turning to face Elizabeth with an excited grin. 

Her sister seemed to be considering her proposition, “Surely you’re right,” She agreed, her hands finding her sister’s and squeezing them excitedly, “It’ll be easy enough to start a fire and add some leaves and wood before throwing in the rum,” She agreed with equal fervor. 

“I’m sure Jack will know the best place to light a fire as well, we should ask him for help before he drinks himself to death out here,” Isabella mentioned, turning towards Jack before climbing to her feet. 

Just as she started to move to his side, Elizabeth was standing as well, pulling her backwards, “No,” She said, “He wouldn’t help us, you’ve known him longer, wouldn’t you agree that he would never want to burn his precious rum?” She asked, lowering her voice as she peered at Jack through hooded eyes. 

Elizabeth had a point, Jack was unpredictable, he could think their plan wouldn’t work and refuse to help, maybe attempt to outright stop him, but she knew whatever happened he wouldn’t be happy with their decision, “You’re right, he can’t know that we’re doing this,” She sighed, wanting to be able to trust him but knowing that they couldn’t. 

“We’re going to have to distract him, so he doesn’t care that we’re burning the rum,” Elizabeth decided, furrowing her brow. 

Isabella was sure that they would be able to get him drunk enough, he was on that path himself at this point, but she wasn’t sure if it would be enough, “Well, we’ll just have to play along for now, pretend that we’re drinking with him, I’m sure he wouldn’t be opposed if you decided to flirt a little,” Isabella grinned, nudging her sister in the side. 

Elizabeth scoffed, “I’m sure we’ll have to play along, but I won’t be doing the flirting, sister,” Her older sister said with a grin, “I’m sure we’ll be much more successful if you’re the one vying for his attention,” She teased. 

If her cheeks weren’t already red from the hot Caribbean sun bearing down on them she was sure that she would’ve blushed red from the embarrassing implications, “Please, he’s a pirate, any woman vying for his attention could have him on his knees if he was drunk enough,” She said, forcing a laugh from her dry throat. 

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “Well it wouldn’t be very proper if an engaged woman flirted around with a pirate would it?” She grinned, “To keep my honor intact you owe this to me.” 

Isabella was pretty resigned to her fate of being the distraction but she couldn’t help but want to argue some more, getting  _ some _ of her frustrations out, “I didn’t know that you had accepted the proposal, from what I know, you’re no more engaged than I am,” She said, happy to be back to some familiarity. 

“I’m bound to accept eventually,” Elizabeth huffed, shoving her sister towards the beach before picking up their two abandoned bottles of rum and pushing one into Isabella’s arms, “Now, I’ll leave it to you,” She said, marching in front of her towards the beach in front of them. 

She was quick to meet her sister on her march towards Jack who had already gotten halfway through his bottle, and the sun looked like it was just starting to set, “Jack,” Elizabeth called, marching purposely towards his side, “How about we make a small fire, at least make our first night here somewhat comfortable,” She said purposely, setting her bottle down by his side. 

He looked up at the two of them once they reached him, “Ah, a splendid idea!” Isabella could immediately tell that the rum was affecting him in some way at that point, but he clearly had his fair share and could still handle himself, the two of them had a lot of work to do at that point.

The three of them were quickly able to build a small fire with Jack’s help, one that quickly grew into something slightly larger, that would easily illuminate their area in the nighttime that was quickly approaching. The sun still hadn’t set yet, and she wasn’t sure how quickly they’d be able to get Jack drunk enough to make him not care, or even better, pass out from the heavy alcohol, and apparently it was her job to make sure he got to that point so Elizabeth could at least make sure all went well with burning the rum. 

Once the fire was lit, she was quick to pull Jack over to where they’d abandoned their bottles of rum, “I’m not much of a drinker Jack,” She confessed to him once they had their discarded bottles, “But tonight I want to drink until I forget today,” Her flirting was a little sloppy, it was different trying to attract the attention of a pirate compared to the nobles she was often set up with in Port Royal, but she was sure the more he drank the more comfortable she would become, hoping that he wouldn’t remember this in the morning. 

Despite her awkward demeanor, Jack’s eyes lit up at her implication, popping open his bottle before doing the same to hers and clicking his against hers, taking a big chug of his rum, “Better try to catch up then, darling, you’ve got a long way to go,” He winked at her, slinging a heavy arm over her shoulders as he watched her take a swig of her rum. 

Or he thought she was taking a swig, she had her lips tightly closed as the pressed the bottle against them, letting the liquid slosh against her mouth for a moment before pulling the bottle away and smiling up at him in a way that hopefully was very welcoming to the pirate, “I’m more than prepared, pirate,” She challenged, hoping he would take this as a challenge between the two of them, almost like a drinking competition.  

He seemed to get very excited at the prospect of their little game before he took another drink, “Well luv, looks like I’m winning,” He grinned at her, flashing her all of his teeth before he prodded at her bottle with his free hand, urging to her drink more. 

She took another pretend sip, happy she wasn’t actually trying to get drunk, the only reason she would get drunk at the moment was if she felt as hopeless as Jack did at the moment, but she was more than lucky her and Elizabeth had come up with somewhat of a plan. 

Before she could even lower her bottle, Jack was pulling her to the ground so she was sat on the sand next to him, nearly on his lap. She let out a squeak of surprise, hoping that she wouldn’t give away the fact she wasn’t quite drunk, “Alright there, luv?” He asked, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her pinned against his side. 

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak yet, he wasn’t drunk enough yet to not be able to tell if she was drunk or not. 

Still, he looked down at her under hooded eyes, “Looks like you need some more of this,” He said, and before she knew what was happening, his rum bottle was being held up to her lips, practically forcing her to take down two massive gulps of the liquid before he pulled his bottle away. 

He was grinning at her, a strange gleam in his eyes at that moment, as she coughed slightly, trying to get the burning sensation out of her throat while Jack watched her, clearly observing her every action, “You’re right,” She groaned, her nose wrinkling at the aftertaste she still had in her mouth. 

Suddenly, he was turning to face Elizabeth, who had sat herself a short ways away from the odd couple, perched by the fire, open rum bottle in her hand, “Curious,” He began, his fingers moving over her shoulder almost rhythmically, “You and your sister finally reunited and you two aren’t attached at the hip,” He pondered, taking another sip. 

Isabella froze up, feeling like she wanted to drink more rum at this point, but knowing she shouldn’t, “She said she isn’t in the mood to drink too much,” She quickly lied, “And like I said, I want to drink until I forget,” She repeated, looking up at Jack with wide eyes, hoping he would believe her lie. 

Jack nodded, turning so he was kneeling in front of her, his bottle being thrust in front of her face as his knees went around her legs so he was nearly straddling her, “Drink up then, dearie,” Jack grinned, moving to push the bottle to her lips. 

Quickly she pulled her bottle up so it was in his face this time, stopping him from forcing more of the drink down her throat, “I insist you drink  _ with _ me, Captain,” Isabella purred, the words coming out of nowhere, nearly surprising herself. 

She could tell that her words got to him as he shifted over her slightly, his lips lowering of his own accord to her bottle watching to make sure she repeated his action, which she begrudgingly did. Jack poured more of the burning liquid down her throat, not stopping until he felt like she’d taken in an impressive amount of the drink, and she only pulled back when he did. 

He was staring at her excitedly when they both pulled their bottles away from the other, and she would’ve tried to match his look if it weren’t for her head swimming at the amount of alcohol she’d just consumed. 

Jack chose to stand up then, his hand extending to her to help her to her feet then, which she eagerly accepted after she realized she wasn’t sure how well she’d be able to stand herself. Sure she’d only had a few sips at this point, but the most she’d ever drank was with Jack on Tortuga, and that wasn’t nearly as strong as the rum they were drinking now, and other than that, she was quite small in stature, not built to drink large amounts of alcohol. Thankfully, she was stubborn enough to realize she had to keep the pirate drinking, and at this point she realized that she was most likely going to end up drunk alongside him this time, leaving Elizabeth to tend to the fire herself. She knew her sister was more than capable of dealing with the fire by herself, but at the same time, she knew she didn’t want to get drunk for the first time with Jack of all people, but the situation called for it, and if it meant she got to go home there was no way she was going to back out now. 

“Can you tell me more about your first time here?” She asked, subconsciously taking another sip of her drink which Jack noticed and grinned at, “I’m sure there was more to it than you drinking rum for three days before getting rescued,” She pondered, hoping Jack would buy into telling his story and wanting to drink more because of it. 

He frowned as he took another big sip, “Hate to disappoint ye luv, but that’s all there is to the story, if you haven’t noticed, there’s not much more to do there other than get drunk,” His voice came out as more of a growl at the end, “At least this time there’s better company,” Jack finished, his free hand finding her hair and pushing it behind her ear. 

Isabella felt her skin crawl and she willingly took another sip, realizing that she definitely needed to get more drunk in order to deal with him through the night, “Well, if there was anyone to be marooned with, it should be the infamous Jack Sparrow,” She replied, letting her free hand fall on his chest instead of using it to push him away like she wanted to do. 

He frowned for a second, letting his fingers catch in her tangled hair at that point, “It’s Captain Jack Sparrow, luv,” He grinned, pushing his face that much closer to Isabella’s as his hand moved so it was near the back of her head now. 

She wanted to look to Elizabeth for help, but she knew she shouldn’t break the illusion she’d painted around the two of them, especially with night falling so quickly around them, “Of course,” She breathed, raising an eyebrow in his direction, “How could I forget Captain, I just thought, considering this could be our last night on earth, we could get more  _ comfortable _ ,” She goaded, repeating his words from several nights ago, “Maybe I could call you, Jack?” Isabella asked, the hand on Jack’s chest venturing higher until it was on his shoulder, nearly touching his neck. 

Isabella watched as Jack’s eyes flickered over her face, swallowing deeply, “Aye, you can call me whatever ye like,” He decided, leaning in closer to her. 

Before he could lean in too close to her she let her hand find his free one, moving away from him and pulling him closer to the shoreline, “Jack,” She repeated, dragging him along behind her, “Tell me why you love the ocean so much,” She asked once they were standing at the edge of the water, it occasionally reaching their boots. 

Once he was standing side by side with her once more he took another sip of his rum, his weight collapsing sideways onto her, showing her that she was getting him to where he needed to be, she was sure it wouldn’t take much more for him to pass out from the rum, “Why do ye want to know? Are you curious?” He grinned, moving close to her once more so she couldn’t pull away from him again. 

She nodded, her wide eyes glued onto his, “I think I am, I think… that I’m starting to think pirates aren’t so bad,” Isabella confessed, suddenly finding herself unsure of what she was confessing to him. 

Jack grinned, looking amused with himself, “I told you you’d warm up to me,” He looked more than pleased with his revelation, taking another large gulp from his bottle, “And I’ll tell ye eventually, that’s a story for another time,” Jack said with a shrug once he’d taken another chug. 

Isabella frowned, she wanted to keep him distracted, tire him out, and she was running out of things to say to him, she wanted to ask Elizabeth for help, but at the same time she knew there wasn’t much her sister could do at the moment other than wait for her turn to make something happen, “Another time?” She questioned, “You think we’ll have more time on this island to share stories?” 

The pirate beside her let his arm slip around her waist this time, his wandering hands becoming more bold every minute, “I survived for three days, luv, a lot can happen in that time,” He told her, his arm tightening to pull her tight up against him. 

He was clearly trying to make another move on her, but she knew she couldn’t let that happen on the off chance that he was to remember their night together in the morning, “I suppose you’re right, but we’re having  _ fun _ tonight,” She repeated, hoping he would get the hint and not take her words the wrong way. 

Of course he did though, his free arm that still held his bottle of rum came around her body at that moment, forcing her even closer to his side, “Aye, I love fun,” he agreed, his lips parted greedily as he dipped his head once more. 

Isabella quickly pulled her hands up between then, taking another swig of the alcohol to distract Jack for the time being, “I do too,” She agreed, letting one hand travel up his arm and settle itself on the back of his neck, “My sister and I, when my father would take us sailing, we would sing an old song,” She began, hoping her story would distract him, aided by her free hand caressing the back of his neck, her fingers slowly threading through his dreads to rub at his scalp, which felt surprisingly clean, “I wonder if you know the song, maybe you could help me remember it?” Isabella asked, looking up at him with wide eyes. 

Jack nodded, his eyes slipping shut for a moment until he realized that she expected him to answer her, “Let’s hear it, luv,” He grinned, leaning into her touch. 

She was almost surprised at how much power she had over him at the moment, but it wouldn’t do her too well to dwell on it for too long, she just had to do her job at the moment, “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me,” She began, humming the melody a little bit until Jack perked up, clearly recognizing the tune she was singing. 

“Oh!” He exclaimed, perking up a little bit before taking another drink, Isabella took one too after watching him, “If we’re singing we need to get more festive!” He was clearly more than drunk now, and after drinking so much so quickly, she felt like she wasn’t that far off from where he was! 

Jack dragged her back towards the fire, practically running back up the beach and spinning her around as they got there, “This is a night for celebrating!” He grinned, pulling her so the two of them were practically skipping around the fire at that point, then he was singing at the top of his lungs, the song she’d started earlier coming out of his lips in a loud and boisterous manner. 

She was quick to join him, feeling almost happy about their situation for the first time in the last few hours, maybe this was why Jack liked drinking so much, “We’re devils and black sheep and really bad eggs,” The two of them sang very off pitch as they stumbled side by side around the fire, “Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho!” They called out in the silence of the quiet island. 

Just then, Isabella spotted Elizabeth watching the two of them, an amused expression on her face, “Oh, just a minute,” She said, turning to Jack before she ran over to Elizabeth’s side, leaving the pirate to celebrate by himself at the moment. 

“Liz,” Isabella called a bit too loudly, dropping to the ground at her sister’s side, “Is it working?” She asked, quieting herself down once she’d reached her sister’s side. 

Elizabeth laughed at her, grabbing her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze, “Yes, it is, are you alright?” She asked in good humor, pushing a strand of Isabella’s hair out of her face. 

She nodded, “Yeah,” She agreed, “It’s fun, you should try it,” Isabella giggled, poking at Elizabeth as she did so. 

Her sister just laughed at her, “Maybe one day, but not tonight, we’ve got a job to do,” She reminded her. 

Isabella nodded in agreement, “Yeah I know, but I don’t think I’ll be much help, I’m going to be tired,” She confessed, her nose wrinkling as she turned back to look at Jack who didn’t seem to be amusing himself that much at the moment. 

Elizabeth nodded in understanding though, “I know, I’ll be fine on my own, go tire him out,” She said, sending her sister off with a cheeky wink. 

Drunkenly, Isabella climbed to her feet before stumbling back over to Jack who stood a good ways away from the fire that that point, “I love that song,” He called out to her, grabbing onto her arm and pulling her to the ground once more, “Really bad eggs,” Jack slurred, his arm once more circling her shoulders as he pulled her to his side, “When I get the Pearl back I’m gonna teach it to the whole crew, and we’ll sing it all the time!” Jack promised, looking like he was about to finish his rum bottle before he set it to the side. 

She took another sip of hers, setting it beside Jack’s almost empty one, “And you’ll be positively the most fearsome pirate in the Spanish Main,” Isabella agreed, turning so she was on her side, her hand falling on his chest. 

Jack’s eyes lit up as he scooted closer to her side, “Not just the Spanish Main, luv,” he confessed, his eyes glued onto his face, “The entire ocean, the entire world! Wherever we want to go, we’ll go. That’s what a ship is, you know? It’s not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that’s what a ship needs but what a ship is; what the Pearl really is, is freedom,” Jack grinned, his eyes lighting up at the thought of having his ship back. 

She couldn’t help but think of what he was actually saying, her thoughts being scrambled every second as she tried to get a rational grip on what he was saying. He was clearly implying he would take her with him once he got the Pearl back, he basically confessed he wanted her by his side, but at the same time she knew he was drunk, he was probably just speaking like he would speak to the women from Tortuga, a notorious flirt when he was drunk, and even in her stupor she could realize that. 

Sadly, she had to keep playing along, despite how tired she was, she wasn’t going to collapse until he did first, “Jack,” She sighed, “It really must be terrible for you to be trapped on his island,” Not wanting to look at him any longer, her head fell sideways on his shoulder as he shifted so his lower back was resting on the sand as well now, the two of them almost laying down at this point. 

Jack stiffened a little bit, his arm tightening on her body as he let it slip lower around her waist once more, “Oh, yes,” He muttered, giving her a quick squeeze, “But the company is infinitely better than last time, I think, the scenery has improved,” He grinned, turning his body sideways so the two of them were practically pressed against each other, his elbow supporting them so they weren’t completely laying down at the moment. 

Her mouth opened in a mock gasp, “Mr. Sparrow,” She teased, pushing his hair over his shoulder and out of his face, “I’m not entirely sure I’ve had enough rum to allow that kind of talk,” Isabella grinned at him. 

Jack was grinning back at her, “I know exactly what you mean, luv,” He said, pulling one arm from around her in order to twirl his beard before reaching back for their bottles and passing hers to her. 

“To freedom,” Isabella offered, tapping her bottle against his. 

“To the Black Pearl,” Jack agreed, quickly downing the rest of his rum before watching Isabella finish as much of her bottle as she could. 

Once he had discarded his empty bottle, his arm was back around her waist, but this time he had collapsed, completely laying on the sand now, holding her to his side with a strong arm wrapped almost too tightly around her, “And really bad eggs,” He repeated, turning his head to look down at her. 

Her exhaustion was finally hitting her, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand up after this, let alone be able to pry herself out of Jack’s grip. Her head and ended up on his shoulder, that being the most comfortable place for her to lay at the moment, and one of her long legs was slung over his, keeping him still underneath him. 

“Looks like the rum’s getting to ye,” Jack slurred, his breath hitting the top of her head, “Don’t be afraid to get comfortable,” He offered, even though she was practically on top of him at that point. 

She nodded against his shoulder, “You too,” she agreed as one of her hands trailed up his chest before stopping on the side of his face, her fingers resting lightly against his cheek. 

When he didn’t respond, she looked up at him to find his eyes closed, he was clearly passed out, and finally, she let herself relax alongside him, Hopefully when she woke up, her and her sister would be reunited with their father and they’d be free from pirates, on their way safely back to Port Royal. 

Before she could even think about Elizabeth, her eyes were slipping shut and she was forgetting the rest of her night. 


	6. Chapter 6

When Isabella woke up the next morning, her head was pounding and the last thing she wanted to do was open her eyes, but when the smell of smoke hit her strongly, her curiosity got the best of her. She peeled her eyes open against their will to see Elizabeth throwing even more run into the large fire she’d set on the beach around them. 

Her sister didn’t notice she was awake yet and she was grateful for that because as soon as she woke up the first thing she noticed after the fire was how promiscuously her and Jack had been tangled up with one another. With a foggy mind, she could briefly remember that this was the same position that the two of them had been in when they’d both passed out last night, but at the time she didn’t mind it as much, however now that she had a clear mind she could realize just how uncomfortable the close encounter with him made her. 

Trying not to wake him, she slowly started to pull herself away from him, hoping that he would naturally let her go and stay asleep for a little while longer. It was easy to remove her leg from around his, throwing it down onto the sand with the rest of her body. Next she propped herself up with one arm on the ground next to him so her head wouldn’t be propped up on his arm any longer, but then came the hard part, getting his arms off of her. 

First she tried to slowly pull herself away from his body, putting more space between them so they weren’t pressed tightly against each other any longer, but before she could even attempt to scoot away from him, he subconsciously tightened his grip on her, pulling her right back up to him. 

She stifled a groan, not liking the way that the two of them fit together laying down next to each other. She knew she shouldn’t wake him up, but at the same time she had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to get up without waking him as a consequence, so she hoped that Elizabeth had managed to burn all of the rum at that point, because she never wanted to have another sip of the horrible drink. 

Before she could talk herself out of it she planted her hands against his side and pushed away from his body, effectively pushing herself out of his arms and a comfortable distance away from him. Quickly, Isabella jumped to her feet, ignoring the throbbing pain in her head as she finally got to see the expanse of the fire that Elizabeth had managed to create while they were asleep. 

It was huge, spreading from the small fire Jack had made last night to the tops of some of the trees on the edge of the forest, if their father had ships looking for them there was no way they’d be able to miss the smoke coming off the small island, Elizabeth had really outdone herself! 

She didn’t have much time to observe her sister’s work because in the next second Jack was waking up, his eyes fluttering open before he was scrambling to his feet, eyes wide in shock as he took in what was happening around them, “No,” He called, getting louder and waving his arms to Elizabeth as she threw another barrel of rum in the flames, “No, not good! Stop, not good!” He called, ignoring Isabella and running straight up to her sister, “What are you doing? You burned all the food, the shade, the  _ rum _ !” He insisted, looking furious. 

Isabella caught up to them quickly despite her head swimming painfully, she wasn’t sure how Jack had managed to pop up like he felt nothing, but she was sure that came with being a notorious drinker, eventually he must’ve built up a tolerance somehow, “It’s for our own good,” Isabella insisted once she caught up so Jack wouldn’t just be yelling at her sister. 

“Why is the rum gone?” He demanded, spinning around to face her, looking almost crazy. 

Elizabeth clearly was in the mood to argue, “One, because it is a vile drink that turns even the most respectable men into complete scoundrels. Two, that signal is over a thousand feet high. The entire Royal Navy is out there looking for us, do you really think that there is even the slightest chance that they won’t see this?” She demanded, gesturing towards the flames that were surrounding them.

Isabella could see that Jack was angry, she wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen him look so angry in all her time she’d spent with him, he didn’t even seem mad after her and Will had abandoned him with his old crew, but this was different, this was rum, and apparently to a pirate that was all that mattered. 

Jack held his arms out, looking around as if to see if she had actually burnt  _ all _ of the rum, “But… why is the rum gone?” He repeated, maybe he was still drunk? 

Elizabeth plopped down on the ground at the edge of the water, her eyes focused on the horizon, “Just wait, Captain Sparrow, you give it one hour, maybe two, keep a weather eye out and then you will see white sails on the horizon,” She insisted, her voice coming out harsher than Isabella had heard in a long time. 

Jack looked like he was struggling with something, and in the next second, he’d pulled out his pistol pointing it right at the back of Elizabeth’s head. Without thinking, Isabella stepped in front of his pistol, so it was no longer pointing at the back of her head and instead at Isabella’s chest. Jack’s eyes shot to hers and he bit his lip, stowing his pistol back where it had come from. 

Before she could say anything to make him understand, he was turning away from the two of them, marching down the beach at a hurried pace, and Isabella had no clue if she should go after him or not to try and explain themselves to him. 

“At least someone will be on their way soon enough,” Isabella said to Elizabeth, crouching down next to her after a moment of silence. 

Her sister sighed, her eyes still focused intensely on the horizon, “It took all night but there’s no way the Navy could miss the smoke,” She agreed, crossing her legs underneath her as she attempted to get more comfortable on the sand. 

Isabella wanted to get more comfortable and be able to sit next to Elizabeth, but every time she tried to focus on the water her eyes kept wandering back to Jack who was pacing on the beach, getting farther away from them with every minute. 

“I should get him, we can’t leave him when our ship shows up,” She sighed after another moment, knowing she would too guilty if that happened after having tricked him just the other night. 

Elizabeth was quick to agree, “Feel free, I’ll be waiting,” She said, not sparing her a second glance. 

Quickly, Isabella shot to her feet offering Elizabeth a quiet, “Be right back,” Before she followed after Jack, hoping she’d be able to catch up to him! 

She started off down the beach in a little jog, and she reached him in less than a minute, “Jack,” She called once she was right behind him, hoping to stop him in his tracks, but he kept on walking, not even slowing down once she’d reached his side, “Jack, stop,” She called again, grabbing onto him with a hand on his shoulder. 

He quickly threw her hand off of him though, “Must’ve been terrible for you, Jack,” He muttered, his voice coming out in a deep growl before he spun to face her, “Well is bloody is now!” He finally stopped walking to yell at her. 

Isabella didn’t let it phase her though, she stood silent while he let out his aggression before taking her turn to speak, “You understand why she had to do it,” She demanded once he’d gone silent again, “There’s no way no one will see this, we’ll be safe,” She continued, hoping he would be able to understand in some way. 

Jack didn’t look too pleased despite her explanation though, and he turned to keep walking down the beach, forcing her to follow after him once more. She couldn’t quite understand why he wasn’t happy about their situation, he surely had to know that someone would come and find them here, but apparently he couldn’t care less about that! 

“Look, just come back to us, we’re not going to leave you abandoned here by yourself, and you wouldn’t like that now that the rum’s gone,” She told him, hoping to appeal to him at this point, which after last night she knew that was something she could do. 

Jack wrinkled his nose at that, “And whose fault is that?” He asked turning sharply to face her once again. 

She stopped abruptly, just barely managing to stop herself from colliding straight into his chest, and she’d had enough touching him after last night, even if most of the night was blurry, “Certainly not ours, I’d say it’s Barbossa’s,” She said, cocking her head and taking a step back from him in a challenging manner. 

Jack frowned, looking like he wanted to challenge her back, but for once he seemed to be at a loss for words. 

“Just come back, we’ll be leaving soon, I’m sure,” She repeated, hoping he would finally agree so they could begin walking back to Elizabeth, they’d gotten a lot farther away from him than she’d realized. 

Clearly he was thinking about a lot at the moment, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it, last night it was her job to distract him, this morning it was time for her to get him to listen to her for once. 

Before he could march back off into the distance once more, she swallowed her pride and grabbed onto his calloused hand, twining their fingers together as she began to drag him back to where Elizabeth was sitting. She was almost surprised at how easily he followed after her, not showing her any resistance for the most part. 

The silence between them gave her time to think, she wanted to know how much he remembered from the previous night, of course she hoped he didn’t remember but she couldn’t be sure, especially after seeing how easily he popped up that morning. She tried her hardest to remember what had happened too, it was easy to recall the beginning of the night, her first few sips of the bottle of rum that Jack practically forced her to drink, their duet around the fire, and their conversation about freedom and the Black Pearl, but the last part was the foggiest. 

She tried to think more about what had happened between them, Jack had told her that he was going to teach the song to his crew once he got the Pearl back. He held the Pearl at a very high standard, he was clearly willing to go very far to get what he wanted back in his possession, especially since he considered it freedom. 

Isabella nearly stumbled at that thought, forcing herself not to hesitate so he wouldn’t realize that anything was wrong, but she couldn’t help but to think about her potential discovery. Freedom was the Black Pearl to Jack, and vise versa, and with the way he talked about the Pearl, the incredibly high standard he held it to, she was sure that Jack had valued his freedom more than anything else. 

It hit her all at once, he didn’t want to have the Royal Navy come find them even if it meant their escape because it would end in his loss of freedom, at least here he still had that. Suddenly she felt very dumb, and honestly a little guilty, here she was practically forcing him to come along with her and her sister just to send him on another route to his most likely death. 

Before she could consider what she was doing she’d spun around, causing Jack to nearly run into her this time, just as she dropped his hand to place each of hers on his chest, forcing him to look at her, “I’m not going to let you die,” She told him. 

Jack looked confused, “S’not something you can control luv,” He said, taking a step towards her as he spoke. 

She faltered and wanted to move away from him but not before she got her point across to him, “I can when the Navy comes, I  _ won’t _ let them kill you,” She repeated. 

He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment, his hands coming up to trap hers against him after a moment, “Yer going to tell the Royal Navy what to do? I’m not surprised,” He said with a grin, clearly enjoying teasing her despite her more serious tone. 

Isabella wanted to roll her eyes, but even more than that she wanted Jack to take her seriously for more than a few seconds at a time, “Fine, don’t listen to me, but I won’t let my father do anything to you, even if you did try to use Will as bait,” She insisted, wrenching her hands away from Jack’s grip on them and continuing on her path back towards Elizabeth. 

He was quick to catch up to her this time, matching her pace before slipping in front of her once more, “How do you propose you keep your Navy from killing me.” He asked, keeping her in place with a heavy hand lingering on her waist. 

She brushed him off of her quickly, not wanting him to get the wrong idea from her wanting to help him, she just felt like she owed it to him at this point, “The Navy isn’t a group of pirates, they’ll listen to reason,” She explained, “Maybe we’ll play up the heroics a little bit and leave out the piracy and they’ll at least agree to give you a head start, and that’s better than being stranded here,” Isabella explained, finally being able to push his hand off of her and getting her much needed space from him. 

“You have that much faith in them?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Isabella wasn’t sure if what she was saying was true, but there was no way she was going to let him die alone on this island, if her father didn’t listen to her wishes then she could come up with an escape plan later, “I do, and I hope you at least have some faith in me, I promise I’ll do all I can to help you get your freedom,” She finished, wanting this conversation to come to an end and for him to finally agree with her about this. 

Jack looked like he was going to respond, but his head turned sharply to look out to shore when white sails became visible on the horizon, “There they are,” He said, his gaze focused on the ship getting closer and closer to them. 

“So you’re coming?” Isabella asked, catching his attention once more. 

It took him a minute to answer her, clearly thinking about something, but eventually he nodded, “Aye,” He agreed, taking the lead on the walk back to her sister once more, leaving her to catch up this time, it was almost like a game between the two of them, a strange sort of competition that they’d brought into nearly every conversation that they had. 

Their walk back after seeing the ship was silent and continued to be even once they reached Elizabeth, the three of them sitting as an awkward trio. It didn’t take long for several smaller boats to be rowed out to the beach, ready to bring them aboard. 

Norrington was on the first ship, immediately recognizing Elizabeth in front of him and practically running to her side, “Elizabeth,” He called out as several of his men from the boats joined them on the beach. James gave her a quick once over making sure she was well alongside her sister before his gaze turned cold on Jack, “Pirate, I suppose you’re going to be joining us?” He asked, a sneer on his face. 

Isabella immediately jumped in, not liking the way that Jack was being addressed after she promised she’d help him get his freedom, “Commodore,” She insisted, stepping between the two men like she had before she even knew Jack on the docs, “The Captain is the reason that Elizabeth and I are alive, we owe him, and I would hate for you to not allow us to settle our debts,” She swiftly cut in, staring up at James with wide eyes, which would’ve been much more effective if it was Elizabeth, but at the same time, James had always been nice to her, and she hoped she was appealing to his softer side. 

He held his head high still, staring at Jack over her shoulder before turning his gaze back to her, “Take him aboard,” He called over his shoulder to some of his men who were quick to listen to his order, “We’ll decide what to do with him there,” Isabella sighed, at least he was safe for now, she would just have to keep going step by step with him. 

After Jack had been pulled onto a tiny boat with a whole lot of James’ men surrounding him, Isabella and Elizabeth were ushered into James’ boat with only one other man, much to her pleasure. It was nice to know that this was almost over, she was sure Elizabeth would try to get them to save Will too, so she hoped that would go smoothly, unlike the rest of their adventure, and then the three of them could finally be on their way home. 

The ride back to the ship was rather quiet, as expected, it was as if Norrington wasn’t quite sure what to say to his almost fiancee, let alone his almost finance's sister, and the poor guard that was stuck rowing the boat for them looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. Thankfully it didn’t take long before they were climbing aboard their new ship, being greeted by the familiar face of their father. 

“Oh,” He exclaimed, seeing Isabella climb over the railing before Elizabeth came after her, “I’m so glad you’re both alright!” She was quickly pulled into her father’s arms along with her sister, “You are both alright?” He clarified pulling away after a moment. 

Isabella nodded, not being able to help the smile on her face, finally feeling like she’d be able to relax a little bit in the comfort of the Navy, “Yes, we’re fine,” She agreed, watching as Elizabeth was practically swept away by Norrington as he threw his heavy jacket around her shoulders. 

Finally her sister perked up, pulling the jacket tighter around her shoulders, “But Will’s not,” She perked up, “He risked his life to save ours, we must save him,” She insisted, turning between their father and James. 

The two men looked awkward for a moment before James spoke up, “That’s not a risk we’re willing to take,” He decided, turning cold. 

Elizabeth frowned, clearly wanting to argue this for Will’s sake, “But we’ve got to save Will,” She continued, surging forward to capture James’ attention even though he’d turned away. 

However it was their father that stopped her this time, “No, you’re safe now,” He argued, “We will return to Port Royal immediately, not go gallivanting after pirates!” Isabella’s nose wrinkled at the argument, Will had gone through so much to get Elizabeth back safely, they  _ owed _ him this. 

“You’re willing to condemn him to death?” Isabella demanded, moving away from her father, wanting him to see how upset she was at his decision. 

He frowned, “The boy’s fate is regrettable, but then, so is his decision to engage in piracy,” Isabella had to bite her lip in order to keep her father from knowing that she had also  _ engaged _ in piracy. 

For some reason she felt her cheeks heating up and her eyes quickly scanned the ship, looking for the pirate that had boarded with them. She quickly found him, he was staring at her, a dark look on his face as he held eye contact with her. Isabella moved to look away from him, but then he was grinning again, clearly he could overhear their loud conversation on board from where he was standing not too far away. 

Elizabeth was speaking again, pulling her back into the conversation and away from Jack, “To rescue me, to prevent anything from happening to me!” She continued, her arguments becoming louder and louder. 

Just then she realized how close Jack actually was to the four of them, “If I may be so bold as to inject my personal opinion,” He requested, leaning closer to her father, who looked very uncomfortable at the pirate’s request, “The Pearl was listing near to scuppers after the battle, it’s very unlikely she’ll be able to make good time. Think about it,” He continued, turning towards Norrington at this point, “The Black Pearl, the last real pirate threat in the Caribbean, mate, how can you pass that up?” He breathed, clearly having a plan in mind after he’d mentioned that to Norrington. 

James turned to face him, looking cold once more, “By remembering I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself,” He decided. 

“Commodore,” Elizabeth finally addressed him directly, “I beg you, please, do this for me, as a wedding gift,” She hesitated, but Isabella knew she was finally willing to go through with it, even if it would tear her away from Will, at least he would live. 

“Elizabeth, are you accepting the governor’s proposal?” Their father was the first to speak up, sounding very confused, but more hopeful than anything. 

Her sister was standing tall in her decision at least, “I am,” She agreed. 

Isabella watched as Jack’s eyes lit up with excitement, “A wedding?” He asked, turning to Isabella this time, “I love weddings, drinks all around!” He exclaimed, his arms flung out wide, “I know, clap him in irons, right?” He asked once his gaze had landed on James. 

Norrington was glaring at the pirate, but his look wasn’t as cold as it had been previously, “Mr. Sparrow, you will accompany these fine men to the helm and provide us with the bearing to the Isla de Muerta. Then you will spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all possible meanings of the phrase ‘silent as the grave,’” Norrington sneered, “Do I make myself clear?” 

Obviously Jack was pleased with this turn in events, his grin was proof of that as he gave a small bow to James, “Inescapably clear,” He agreed, his eyes flashing towards Isabella quickly before he was led away from the rest of them and towards the helm. 

Once Jack had been taken away, Norrington was quick to turn to face Elizabeth, a satisfied smile on his face as he held her gently by the arms, “I am humbled and honored you chose to accept,” He smiled, the adoration he held for her sister very clear from the look on his face. 

Her father was quick to lead her away from the newly engaged couple, quickly getting her some much needed water and then leading her indoor so she would be able to change into something more ‘suitable’ he claimed at least. 

Thankfully she was able to deter him long enough, claiming that for the rest of their journey, at least until they were actually headed home, she’d be much more comfortable in her current garb, and after only a short while he agreed with her, leaving her to herself for a little while, ordering her to rest up. 

‘Resting’ didn’t last too long though, she was too curious for her own good, and all she wanted to do was know if they were actually on their way back to the island for Will, and the only one who could give her a proper answer was Jack at the moment, so she decided quickly that she needed to sneak out without her father noticing her. 

That wasn’t too hard to do, her father didn’t do the best on ships and after the excitement of finding his daughters she was sure that he’d be back over the railing, hoping that nothing would come up. Sure enough when she left the cabin she realized that her father was nowhere in sight, and Jack had managed to secure himself a spot off to the side of the hull where a soldier was steering. 

She quickly ran up to him, realizing that she could go unnoticed much easier on this ship when she was dressed in men’s clothes, unlike Elizabeth who was practically in her undergarments in front of all these men. But unlike the rest of the crew, Jack’s eyes had fallen on her as soon as she’d started making her way towards him. 

She sat herself down on the crate with him, hoping that she wouldn’t get dragged away from him before she had a chance to talk to him, “They’re headed in the right direction?” She clarified as soon as she’d sat down, not giving him a chance to speak. 

Jack nodded, “Of course they are,” He agreed, flipping open his compass as if to double check before it was clipped back on his belt. 

“Are you ever going to tell me where that compass points to?” She asked after a moment, she knew that Norrington had practically told Jack to stay silent, and she was sure he didn’t want to compromise his potential route towards freedom, and she wasn’t planning on being the reason his plans failed again. 

He laughed, his shoulder brushing against hers as he lent backwards so they were closer to each other, “Only if you convince me,” Jack grinned, his face coming right up next to hers. 

Isabella grimaced, trying to lean away from him but getting stopped when her back hit the ship’s rail behind her, leaving Jack to get that much closer to her face, “And... how am I supposed to do that?” She asked, lowering her voice as she tried to figure out how to get some space from him. 

Jack was still grinning, this time she could tell that it was at her discomfort though, “Figure it out, luv, I can’t be putting in all the work,” He offered, his fingers running along his compass. 

She narrowed her eyes at him, wanting to push him away but not wanting to cause a scene, “Fine, I’ll figure it out later,” Isabella said, deciding that she’d gotten what she wanted out of the conversation and was ready to leave for the time being so she could get a break from him. 

After the previous night she couldn’t help but feel her cheeks heat up whenever she made any sort of contact with the pirate and she wasn’t about to put herself in that position for too long when she didn’t have to deal with him. She moved to stand up from the crate she and Jack were sharing but he was quick to move so his arm was discreetly placed around her waist, holding her in place. 

“What are you doing?” She gaped, feeling her stomach drop from the unwanted contact. 

Jack shuffled around a little bit, pulling her backwards so she was where she’d been sitting a moment ago, their thighs touching now, and Isabella’s cheeks turning bright red at the contact, “Don’t be so hasty luv, ye don’t want to leave me to myself with all these noblemen,” He grimaced, his nose wrinkling in disdain. 

She would’ve laughed at that if it weren’t for how uncomfortable she felt with him touching her so casually, at least the night previous they were both drunk so neither of them had to worry about it, but this was different, “You were alone a moment ago, you can be alone again,” She chastised, swatting at his hand that was almost gently squeezing her waist, leaving him to laugh but not retract his hand. 

He leaned even closer, if it were possible, looking like he was about to respond, but thankfully he was being called by one of the men that were currently steering their ship as they tried to navigate the rocky waters. Jack turned his head to look at them before hopping off the crate but not before turning back to face her briefly and practically standing between her legs, “Be right back, Izzy, wait up for me,” He grinned and before she could even realize what was happening he’d left her by herself and moved to take over at the helm, steering the ship with ease. 

Even though he’d managed to stun her for a moment with the nickname she'd come to not mind as much as she thought she would, she wasted  _ no _ time in jumping off the crate and leaving the top deck in an instant, not wanting to wait around to see what he would have to say if she was still there waiting for him when they were done letting him steer. With a quick glance behind her once she'd descended the stairs she could see Jack watching her once more, his expression an amused one, which made her thankful at least. 

She was so caught up in avoiding Jack’s gaze she didn’t even realize that she was about to run straight into James’ side, the only thing that stopped her was his hand coming out to grab onto her by the shoulder, stopping her in her tracks, “Oh, my apologies, commodore,” She said, startled, taking a step away from his outstretched hand. 

“Quite alright, Isabella, I thought you and Elizabeth were taking a rest?” He questioned, furrowing his brow. 

She nodded, quick to agree with him, “Oh I was, I just needed some fresh air, felt a little stuffy in there, and we were a bit curious to know what was happening,” She quickly lied, flashing James a polite smile to assure him she was alright. 

He nodded in agreement, “Understandably, you’ve both gone through a lot these past few days, and according to Mr. Sparrow we’re getting closer to the Isla De Muerta, shouldn’t be much longer until we’re there,” He informed her, looking out to where the ship was headed as if he’d be able to spot the island. 

Isabella nodded, still smiling politely at the man, “And once we get to the island?” She asked, hoping to get more information out of the man. 

“Don’t worry, you and your sister will be kept safe on board while I take a group of men to shore with Mr. Sparrow, we’ll retrieve Mr. Turner and head back to Port Royal promptly,” He continued, thinking that Isabella wanted nothing more than to go home, which she was thankful for. 

Once more she nodded and made to leave, planning on telling Elizabeth what was going on now, “Thank you Commodore,” She said, spinning on her heel and without making eye contact with anyone else she’d entered the cabin once more, hoping Elizabeth was actually inside so she could share the news with her. 

“Where did you go?” She was greeted immediately by Elizabeth who had been pacing in front of the cabin doors. 

Isabella smiled in greeting and went to sit down at one of the chairs that were in the cabin with them, “Just to make sure we’re on our way to find Will, I didn’t know if the Commodore was quite so trustworthy,” She grinned, watching as Elizabeth’s face lit up in curiosity, “We are headed back, Jack is steering at the moment,” She told her, happy to see her sister smile in relief. 

“We’re going to save Will,” She sighed, sounding more excited than she’d heard her since she’d been captured by pirates. 

“Well, we’re not going to,” Isabella rolled her eyes, wringing her hands together, “James is going to have us stay on board, he’s bringing Jack and a few men to shore to get Will back, he didn’t tell me how, but I reckon if we try to sneak to shore with him someone will notice,” She laughed, dryly. Sure she was happy they were on their way to get Will back now, but at the same time she wanted to do something to help, but it was pointless trying to convince the Commodore to let them go to shore with him, he’d claim it was too dangerous or something. 

The two of them were silent for a moment before Elizabeth started pacing again, “James won’t let us help, but who’s going to stop us?” She asked, a smile spreading across her lips. 

Isabella frowned, she knew her sister was instigating that they save Will themselves, not trusting his fate to James and his crew, but how were they supposed to do that if they were stuck in the cabin, that would most likely be guarded when they reached the island, “What do you mean?” She asked, standing up to stop her sister from pacing again. 

“I mean, we’re going to go save Will ourselves,” Elizabeth abruptly turned on her feet to head straight towards the back window, “There must be something we can use in here, we can lower ourselves out the back, take a small boat and decide what to do next when we get there,” She decided, heading towards the window to see if she could open it. 

Thankfully the window opened with ease, leaving the two sisters to try and find something to use that could lower themselves down out of the ship, “What about these?” Isabella asked after the two of them began rummaging through the many drawers in their cabin. She quickly pulled out a bunch of old bed sheets. 

Elizabeth quickly joined her, seeing how many sheets were there, “These could work, better get started on tying them together now,” She decided, grabbing two sheets and attempting to make a tight knot . 

Isabella rolled her eyes at her sister’s knot tying skills, she was thankful that Mr. Gibbs had taught her how to tie knots on board the Interceptor earlier in their adventure, she was sure that she’d be able to tie knots tight enough that they wouldn’t fall out when they were climbing down them later, “Here let me,” She offered, taking the sheets away from Elizabeth when her sister failed to tie them together. 

She quickly got to work, hoping that what they had to work with would be long enough to get them to where they needed to be, Elizabeth, who had gotten bored with watching her tie the sheets together, decided that she’d try to find a boat for them to use once they’d lowered themselves down. It didn’t take long for Elizabeth to be dragged back inside the cabin, fighting against the grip of two of James’ men, “Don’t worry miss,” The man taunted, “He’s already informed of that, a little mermaid flopped up on the deck and told him the whole story,” He mocked before slamming the doors shut on the two women. 

Her sister cursed loudly, “This is Jack Sparrow’s doing!” She shouted, pulling at the door handles only to find them locked. 

Isabella had just finished tying together the sheets when Elizabeth turned back to face her once more, fuming, “Something wrong?” She asked, getting to her feet and eyeballing the rope she’d made, wondering if it would be long enough. 

Elizabeth stomped over to where Isabella had been sitting before and threw herself down on the chair, crossing her arms over her chest and looking very angry, “They don’t believe me, and they aren’t planning on sneaking Will to safety, they’re going to charge in there and try to kill the pirates, the  _ unkillable  _ pirates,” She sneered, her eyes filled with worry, “They won’t survive, and they won’t be able to get Will back.”    


She flinched, she didn’t know that was going to be the plan, James had made it sound like it was going to be more of a stealth mission rather than a full on fight, she didn’t think he cared that much. But then she remembered what Jack had said earlier, he’d clearly got in his mind that if he took down the Black Pearl, the threats of pirates would be over, and he’d be notorious for getting rid of them, but he  _ couldn’t _ . 

“Well, that’s why we’re helping, right?” She asked after a moment, “Were you able to find a ship?” 

Elizabeth nodded, getting to her feet once more and grabbing Isabella’s homemade rope, starting to dangle it out the window, “Yes, there’s one down the back,” She informed her, “And it looks like your rope is the perfect length,” Elizabeth turned back around with a smile, some hope back in her eyes after their bad news about James’ plan. 

“Then what are we waiting for? They dropped anchor, yes?” Isabella asked, joining her sister by their escape route. 

She nodded, looking for a place to tie the other end of Isabella’s rope before deciding on a large stable wooden plank on the wall closest to the window, “Just a moment,” Her sister requested before moving over to some drawers they had searched through earlier before pulling out some men’s clothes and quickly changing into them, to make herself more comfortable, “Let’s go,” Elizabeth enforced once their rope was tied tightly to the ship and she was changed into something more proper. 

Elizabeth went first, climbing out of the window with ease and slowly lowering herself until she reached their boat, waiting for Isabella as she gathered the oars, getting ready to row them to shore most likely. Isabella took one look between the window and the doors to the cabin, this was risky, but Will had gotten her sister back, there was no way she was going to just leave him to a group of pirates. 

As quickly as possible she shimmied down the rope, joining Elizabeth in their small boat before grabbing the other set of oars and helping Elizabeth row them as far away from James’ boat as possible, “Now what’s the plan, are we just going to do the same thing James is doing and put ourselves in danger by heading straight into their cave?” She demanded, her arms aching from the chore of rowing their boat, leaving her glad that Jack and Will had always rowed before.

Her sister was looking around as they rowed, “No, no that’s not it,” She decided, “We need more help,” Her eyes lit up suddenly, clearly coming up with another brilliant idea, “The Black Pearl, your old crew, we’ll get them to help us!” She decided. 

It wasn’t a bad idea, they were most likely going to be kept below deck in the brig after helping Jack try to get the Pearl back, maybe they would be able to help Jack again, “What are we waiting for,” Isabella asked, grinning as the Pearl came into view. 

The two sisters got their boat to the Pearl in record time, and then came the hard part of trying to climb up the side of the boat without being noticed, she was sure there would be cursed pirates on board keeping guard of their boat, but hopefully not that many of them. 

“Be quiet,” Isabella warned, scrambling up the side of the boat and climbing over the side before helping Elizabeth do the same. 

Isabella turned, ready to find the brig so they could free their old crew, but just as they turned a small monkey appeared right in front of them. She nearly shouted, but Elizabeth was quick to grab the monkey by the tail and throw him overboard, clearly having dealt with him before, “They’ll have heard that,” Elizabeth warned, “Let’s go,” She pulled her from the side of the ship where they had watched the monkey fall overboard before running down below deck, only pausing to hide when two cursed pirates ran up the stairs, not noticing the two girls as they hid in the shadows. 

Waiting just a moment to see if they had really gone for good, the two women quickly hurried down the stairs that they had just came from, looking for Jack’s crew. They reached the brig in record time and luckily enough there was the crew! 

“Isabella, and Elizabeth!” Mr. Gibbs exclaimed, being the first person to see the two of them. 

Isabella grinned at the sight of the crew, for some reason, seeing them felt more than familiar to her and she couldn’t help but be nearly  _ thrilled _ at seeing them again, knowing that they’d be able to help in some way, “Let’s get you out of there,” Isabella was quick to use an old trick that Will had taught her when they’d first gotten Jack’s help to get the crew out of their cell, “There’s two pirates out on the deck, we’ll just have to make sure they’re out of the way,” She informed them, her and Elizabeth leading their new rag-tag team above deck. 

Elizabeth was quick to instruct some of the men to help her swing one of the ships old boats straight into the unsuspecting backs of the cursed pirates who immediately fell into the waters below, “All of you with me!” Elizabeth called, moving to pull the ropes for the boat with Isabella by her side, but when the two of them tried to hoist the boat into the water they found that none of the pirates that they had just helped get free were even bothering to help them in the slightest! 

“Please,” Elizabeth begged with wide eyes as they realized what was going on, “I need your help, come on!” She demanded, but none of the pirates bothered to move a finger. 

Isabella frowned at the crew, she knew that they were all just willing to do things to benefit themselves, but the two sisters had just freed them from the brig, and most likely gotten them the Black Pearl if they were able to get the ship far enough away from the island, and here they were, not moving a muscle. 

“Any port in the storm,” Cotton’s parrot croaked, while the pirates shifted almost uncomfortably. 

Mr. Gibbs stepped forward, looking almost bashful, not what she’d expect from pirates, “Cotton’s right, we’ve got the Pearl,” He decided, gesturing towards the ship they were currently standing on. 

Isabella frowned,  _ not  _ happy with them at the moment, “What about Jack, you’re just going to leave him?” She demanded. 

“Jack owes us a ship,” Annamaria called out, arms crossed over her chest. 

Gibbs cut in once more too, “And there’s the code to consider,” He added, as if it explained their reasons. 

“The code?” Isabella demanded, her anger flaring, “You’re pirates, hand the code and hang the rules!” She enforced, hoping she’d be able to get through to them. 

“They’re more like guidelines anyways,” Elizabeth added, clearly just as upset as Isabella was. 

None of them were budging though, and she was sure if they hadn’t convinced the crew by now, there was no way they’d have enough time to, “Fine, at least help us get out boat ready before you leave with the Pearl,” Isabella requested, her lips drawn in a firm line, showing the crew how upset she was. 

As if they didn’t want to deal with the two girls any longer, the boat was lowered into the water very quickly and Isabella and Elizabeth were left to climb down inside it, leaving the Pearl behind them as they changed plans and rowed to shore, which was the last thing they wanted to do by themselves. 

“Bloody pirates,” Elizabeth cursed as they pulled their small boat onto the shore of the island. 

Once their boat was secure, Isabella wasted no time in pulling Elizabeth into the cave by her arm, “Let’s go, we’ve no time to waste,” She warned, not wanting Will to get injured while they dawdled on the beach. 

The two sisters quickly ran inside the cave, using the same route they’d taken earlier when Jack led her and Will to find Elizabeth, and sure enough, Will was standing right in front of them, fighting the undead pirates, “I’m gonna teach you the meaning of pain!” The undead pirate called, just as they caught sight of Will. 

“Quickly,” Elizabeth warned, grabbing onto a large plank before running straight into the cave, and practically throwing the plank against the back of the pirate’s head, practically knocking him out, “You like pain?” She demanded, just as the pirate dropped to the ground. 

She was quick to help Will to his feet and the two of them shared a quick embrace before Isabella made herself known to Will as well, “Good to see you’re still holding your ground,” She grinned, looking around to see if there was anything she could use as a weapon since more pirates seemed to notice the two women’s arrival. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another strange sight, Jack and Barbossa were fighting furiously, but the strange part was that they were both skeletal at the moment, she couldn’t help but to grimace at the strange sight, “Whose side is Jack on?” She demanded, turning to face Will. 

Before Will could answer them, three pirates came charging towards the three of them and Will quickly managed to shove another wooden plank through two of them, Elizabeth pushing the third onto the other side of the plank so they were strung together, “At the moment?” Will asked, grabbing a grenade off the floor covered in treasure before shoving it in the center pirates ribs and pushing them back out of the moonlight so they appeared as regular men once more. 

Isabella grabbed a shiny sword off the ground at the exact same moment that Jack had tossed something to Will who was standing right next to the cursed treasure at the moment, before she heard the cocking of a gun and as soon as she looked up she realized the gun was aimed right at Elizabeth from where Barbossa stood. 

She looked around the strange scene, shocked that Barbossa and Jack had managed to stop fighting long enough for him to be able to pull out his gun and raise it towards Elizabeth but here they were. Will looked like he was frozen for a moment, he had something in his hand but she couldn’t tell what it was, Elizabeth looked shocked and she was frozen as well, her mouth hung open in shock, and Jack was standing far closer to her than she had realized, as if he had been making his way towards her just as Barbossa pulled out his gun. Her eyes shot back towards Barbossa then, who was grinning widely, clearly pleased with himself, but before anyone could say anything, Jack had raised his arm and shot Barbossa clear through the chest. 

The man looked down at his chest where the bullet had entered, clearly unamused, “Ten years you carry that pistol, and now you waste your shot,” He grinned. 

“He didn’t waste it,” Will called, his hand held over the chest before he dropped a piece of gold inside it. 

The four of them all turned to face Will at once, watching as the final piece of gold was dropped back into the chest, and then Barbossa dropped his sword, his fingers shakily pulling aside his jacket to see blood pouring from his chest, “I feel cold,” He finally muttered, falling straight to the ground, dead. 

Isabella let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding once Elizabeth was no longer being threatened at gunpoint, and she watched with joy as Elizabeth and Will ran to each other once more, sharing another heartfelt embrace, one of the last she was sure now that Elizabeth and James were engaged. 

Jack clasped his hands together, “Well, now that that’s over,” He exclaimed, marching over towards a pile of gold as he began to deck himself out in the treasure. 

She didn’t want to intrude on Elizabeth and Will’s last moments together, so after a moment of standing by herself she found her moving to Jack’s side, who looked more than pleased to be shopping around in the cave full of treasure, “Congratulations,” She offered, sifting through the treasure with her foot next to Jack’s small pile of loot. 

He turned to her, having already put on several rings, necklaces, and a large golden crown on top of his head, his smile wider than she’d ever seen before, he really was a pirate, “Aye, I suppose it does seem congratulations are in order,” He agreed, “This is a cause for celebration,” He continued to look through the treasure. 

Isabella couldn’t help but to laugh, “I suppose so, how do you plan on celebrating, Captain Sparrow?” She asked, not being able to help smiling back at him as she sat herself down on a small pile of next to the one Jack was rummaging through. 

He watched as she sat down before he continued to rummage through his gold, “I thought you had taken to calling me Jack now, luv,” He taunted, as if he couldn’t help himself. 

Her face immediately lit up, “I don’t think it would be so proper now, if you please,” She shut him down, not liking the way he was staring at her. 

Jack wasted no time in sauntering closer to her, impossibly slowly before pushing some gold around until there was enough room for him to sit down next to her again, she frowned, wanting to move away from the man but she had a feeling he would just pull her back down, like he’d done earlier, “I don’t appreciate tricks,” He said, turning so his lips were practically at her ear as his words came out practically in a growl. 

She frowned, they were about to part ways and she was not going to let him tease her, “Then you should stop playing them yourself,” She whispered back, her voice practically coming out in a hiss.

What she said almost seemed to get Jack  _ excited _ , “Well Izzy,” He replied in turn, his hand coming up to glide across her cheek before he wound his fingers through her hair, pulling her impossibly close to him, “If I stopped playing them we wouldn’t be here,” He finished, his hand still tangled in her hair but cupping the back of her head, clearly he was on some sort of high from finally killing Barbossa. 

If she could fend him off while they were both drunk she certainly should be able to fend him off while they were sober and Will and Elizabeth were standing not ten feet away from them, but for some reason he was dampening all her senses, her heart was pounding but she could barely feel it and she was sure her cheeks were blushing bright red, but for some reason she couldn’t find it in her to push him away. 

Thankfully, just as Jack looked like he was going to close the space between them, Elizabeth’s voice rang out, distracting both her  _ and _ Jack, “We should return to the Dauntless,” She said, talking to Will, but it was loud enough to break Isabella out of whatever strange trance she was in. 

Before Jack could focus on her again she jumped to her feet, revealing herself to the other couple in the cave and immediately running to their side, Jack following close behind her, “Yes, I agree,” Isabella piped up, noticing that Elizabeth and Will had turned away from each other, looking almost uncomfortable now, “Sooner we get to the Dauntless, the faster we can get home!” She exclaimed, happy to  _ finally _ know her next step was going home! 

Elizabeth was quick to grab Isabella by the arm and dragged her off towards where they’d left their boat, Jack and Will following behind them, talking in hushed voices, “Are you alright?” Isabella asked once they were a good distance away from the men behind them. 

She nodded in agreement, “Yes, of course, I’m just ready to get home,” Elizabeth hummed, as they reached the boat. 

Isabella couldn’t help but to agree with that statement, she was ready to be home too, this adventure was taking it toll on her, not that she had become exhausted or anything of the sort, but she was definitely being tried in other ways and she was ready to be done with it. 

“In ye get,” Jack ordered, shooing the two of them with his hands once him and Will had caught up to them. Isabella and Elizabeth had pushed the boat into the water by the time they’d joined him and in the next second the four of them were setting off into the waters around them, Elizabeth next to Will and Isabella unwillingly next to Jack. 

Jack’s eyes were scanning the surrounding waters when the Dauntless came into view, but the Black Pearl was nowhere to be seen, and he quickly became somber, his strange high from before gone in a second, “I’m sorry Jack,” Isabella couldn’t help but mutter once they realized that the Pearl really had left. 

Her hand gently pat at his thigh before she could even think about what she was doing and Jack offered her an almost sad smile, “They’ve done what’s right by them, can’t expect more than that,” He sighed, straightening himself out as he let his hand fall over hers. 

She had just felt bad for him and then he had to go and ruin it by being himself, she shot him a scowl she hoped Will and Elizabeth couldn’t see before she wrenched her hand away from him, pulling it back to her side before scooting slightly away from him in the small boat, so their legs were no longer touching. 

Looking into the distance, the Dauntless became larger and larger as they got closer to the ship that would finally take them home, but Isabella couldn’t help thinking about the crass pirate next to her, feeling almost bad for him despite his horrible behavior towards her the last few hours, but she wouldn’t have to worry about that for long, they were going  _ home.  _

Or she tried to convince herself she wouldn’t have to worry, but the memory of her promising that she would help him keep his freedom was playing at the back of her mind, however, at this point she wasn’t sure if there was much she could do about it. 

He’d saved Elizabeth’s life though, on more than one occasion now, and she could only hope that this awkward boat ride back to safety would mean nothing more than their return home and Jack’s potential freedom, because once he was free to find his ship again, she would never have to deal with the pirate again. 

And she couldn’t  _ wait _ to be done with pirates! 


	7. Chapter 7

They had been back in Port Royal for less than a week now and Isabella was happy she finally was able to relax again… or that’s how she tried to feel, all she wanted to do was relax and go back to her normal life, but there was something telling her that things weren’t the same and they weren’t going to go back to normal so easily. Will and Elizabeth were still awkwardly skirting around each other, especially with Elizabeth’s engagement to James at the time, but she could tell that the two of them couldn’t help but to be drawn to each other in some strangely romantic way she’d never witnessed before. Isabella couldn’t help but wish that the two of them would come to their senses before James and Elizabeth could actually get married, but the more time that went by the less that seemed likely to Isabella. 

Things should’ve been back to normal, but the more prevalent thought in her mind most days was the notorious Captain Jack Sparrow who had been locked away in the jail she’d had her first real conversation with him in. Sure her feelings haven’t changed much since they’d first spoken those weeks ago, but she had gained some basic respect for him, she couldn’t help but feel as if she owed him in some strange way after he’d saved her sister, and even though to some it would’ve seemed she’d done enough to repay that debt, she knew she hadn’t, especially because he was due to be hung by the next day. 

Her mind couldn’t move away from the fact that the pirate who had helped them so much was going to be killed in less than twenty four hours and there was nothing she or anyone could do about it, there really was no hope for Captain Jack Sparrow, and she felt horrible for it. She’d been the one to promise to get him free, but here they were, he was practically on his death bed while she rested comfortably in her grand home. 

Elizabeth had also expressed her disinterest in Jack’s hanging, but James had declined her request to free him, claiming that a pirate is still a pirate, no matter what small deed he does in an attempt to redeem himself, which of course she argued by claiming that her life was apparently some ‘small deed’ to James, but he was quick to shut her down after that, saying that there was nothing more to be said on the matter and ending the conversation promptly. On the other hand, whenever Isabella had tried to bring anything up in regards to Jack to James or her father she had been ignored and shut down immediately, not even letting her get in her opinion about what they should do with him. 

She had to admit, that was the one thing that she missed about being on a pirate ship, the pirates, unlike the people of Port Royal, had actually listened to her, it took them a moment to get over the fact she was a woman, but soon after that she actually felt respected, which was a drastic change after having lived here her whole life. 

Isabella let out a groan, she didn’t know what she was doing here, everything felt different after getting back, Elizabeth and Will were clearly different, her father hardly wanted to talk to her because all she ever brought up was pirates, and Jack was trapped, his freedom stripped away from him, at least if he’d gotten on a different ship he wouldn’t be her problem any longer, but he was. 

The people in Port Royal seemed to look at her and Elizabeth differently too, now that they had survived a group of pirates that had plundered their village, or so they thought about Isabella, but she figured there was no point in telling anyone the truth about her siding with pirates, they were already lucky enough Will got out of a death sentence alongside Jack, she didn't like to think about that too much since Jack had been locked up though. 

Will, too, was concerned with Jack’s death sentence, but his arguments were even less respected than hers and Elizabeth’s, which she didn’t think was possible, he was granted clemency on their way back to Port Royal, but everyone had heard about his time with pirates and there was no way that anyone on the island was going to forget that anytime soon, and she felt bad, at least she had the advantage of no one knowing she'd willingly gone along with a pirate as well, but her father would've killed her if he found out what she'd done, so it was going to be her little secret for the moment, one that she was pretty sure she'd be willing to keep to the grave. And it would become much easier to keep her secret once Jack was our of their lives for good, but in a way that didn't end in death for him, hopefully! 

She wasn't sure how her father and James could pardon Will but not Jack, especially since they were both guilty of the same crimes, but Jack was a pirate by name, which was why he didn't get off so easily, and Norrington was quick to point out all of the other crimes that Jack had committed in his lifetime, which wasn't a list anyone could easily argue. She figured if Jack couldn't argue himself out of a situation, one which he knew the most about, her and Will who had known him for less than a month wouldn't be able to help much in that department either. 

But there had to be something she could do, she just wished she'd started thinking about this before the night before his hanging, she really was pushing it this time, and she had a bad feeling it wouldn't be as easy to break him out of his cell this time around, especially because they didn't have a ship for him, and she wasn't about to let him hide out in her bedroom until he could find one for himself, so she was at a standstill. It didn't take her long to decide that Jack was the person she needed to talk to about how she could help him escape, she contemplated telling Will and Elizabeth, but she couldn't be sure how they would react, Elizabeth didn't have the best reaction to the Captain's antics and she knew Will and Jack had their fair share of differences, which she also felt to be true about herself, but there was something between the two of them she couldn't quite confess even to herself, so she wasn't willing to speak that into existence when she planned on never seeing him again after this.

With Will and Elizabeth out of the question, there was only one thing left for her to do, she had to go find Jack,  there was no way she could let him be hung without speaking to him one last time, so it looked like she was going to be sneaking into the dungeons once more, making that two times more than she’d ever thought she’d have to sneak into a jail cell. 

On the night before Jack’s hanging, Isabella almost surprised herself to find herself getting dressed back in her pirate clothes, sans hat, from her adventure, which she promised her father she would get rid of but she couldn’t help but keep them hidden in her room still, not wanting to part from the strange garments. The clothes made her feel more comfortable than she’d remembered, being able to  _ breath _ in actually clothing was a blessing and she dreaded having to get back in her corset the next day. 

Once more, sneaking out of her house had been easy enough for her, the whole place was practically asleep by that time, and in her manly garb getting close to the dungeons was easy as well, but then again, there came the problem of getting past the guards so she’d be able to talk to Jack. 

The strange thing was, once she reached the cells, there was no guard stationed out front, no one was around and Isabella was free to enter the cells without anyone getting in her way. She didn’t have time to think that it was strange no one was guarding the cells, which most likely didn’t harbor many men at the moment after they’d pretty much all escaped after the Black Pearl had set sail here not too long ago, but Jack was definitely trapped down there, and she wasn’t going to waste this opportunity to have another talk with him. She hoped that this would be the last conversation with him, but not because he died, because he was able to get free and find a ship and hopefully, eventually make his way to the Black Pearl again. 

Practically running downstairs to the cell he’d been in last time, she was so caught up in her mission to reach him that she hadn’t heard the voices coming from below her, ones that she would’ve instantly been able to recognize in any other situation. 

As soon as she turned the corner after heading down the stairs, she yelped when she saw another man down there standing at Jack’s cell! Will spun around to see who intruded on them and looked just as shocked to see Isabella standing there as she was to see him there, too, “What are you doing here?” Will demanded, his brow furrowed in confusion. 

Isabella stepped out of the stairwell and moved until she was standing next to Will in front of Jack’s cell, “I promised him I wouldn’t let James kill him! What are you doing here?” She demanded, her eyes meeting with Jack’s for the first time in a week. 

Jack’s grin was almost infectious, but instead she managed to roll her eyes at him and tear her eyes away from him, “That ye did, and now you’re here to fix it, right?” He asked, quirking and eyebrow in her direction, “That’s what young Mr. Turner is here for.” 

Her eyebrows shot up as she turned to face Will, “You want to save him?” She frowned, ignoring Jack for the meantime. 

Will sighed, “We can’t just let him die,” He explained, clearly not feeling too excited about the prospect of letting him go, but Will was too good to let anyone die in cold blood, which she was more than thankful for at the moment. 

She was glad Will was on the same page as her, better to get him out of there as quickly as possible, “Well, what are we waiting for, you got him out of here before,” She asked, looking around the cell to see if there was anything they could use for leverage like before, but sadly everything was gone, clearly they knew Jack had escaped the first time and weren’t planning on risking it again. 

“We can’t,” Will explained, “No leverage.” 

Jack moved to his feet so he could lean against the bars, getting himself closer to the two outside his cell, “And no leverage means I’m stuck, luv,” He said, not looking too upset about the prospect. 

Isabella’s eyes scanned  the cell, trying to think of things that she could use to get him free, “Well, you’re not going to be stuck in here tomorrow, the guards are going to come through and let you out eventually, we could do something then,” She decided, hoping that Jack or Will would be able to elaborate on her idea. 

“Unless you can take down the Navy by yerself luv, there’s not much you’ll be able to do,” Jack confessed, wrinkling his nose in her direction. 

Isabella glared at him, he was talking so casually about his impending death day while her and Will were both down here risking their futures in Port Royal to save his life, “You sound so sure about your death,” She nearly spat back at him. 

Jack grinned, cocking his head to the side, “Can’t be so sure about anything these days,” He countered, sounding as carefree as ever. 

She would’ve responded, making sure he knew how annoyed she was if it weren’t for Will perking up, “Isabella’s right, you’ll be the least guarded at the hanging, is there any way we could free you from there?” He asked, his brow furrowed as he tried to think of a way to free Jack. 

Isabella was thinking too, “There’s going to be guards everywhere, it’s going to be tricky,” She said, looking between the two men to see if either one of them had any brilliant ideas. 

Jack bit his lip, but kept quiet, she was sure he had a million ideas, but for some reason he was letting them figure this one out on their own. 

“I don’t think there’s any way we can do this discreetly, the navy will know we helped him escape,” Will sighed, she couldn’t quite tell how he felt about that, but he had to know the risk when he’d first come down here to talk to Jack, she could only hope he hadn’t changed his mind yet, especially since she was sure she wouldn’t be able to free him on her own. 

“No, they’ll have to know it’s us, or at least one of us,” She agreed with a sigh, “The only time Jack won’t have anyone standing directly at his side is at- when he’s… well,” She finished, sending a sorry look his way and finding herself surprised to see him almost grinning at her. 

“It’s back to Jack now, is it?” The pirate was smirking now, his eyes only focused on Isabella, leaving Will to shift his gaze between the two of them as she glared at Jack. 

Will frowned, “Am I missing something here?” He demanded, looking to Isabella. 

Her face was bright red by now, there was no way it couldn’t be, she was so embarrassed, “No,” She quickly assured Will before turning back to Jack and pointing an accusatory finger at him, “And you’re wasting time that could be spent trying to save you,” She accused, trying to will herself to calm down and focus on what she’d come here to do. 

Jack shot her one more sly look before he straightened himself up, pacing in his cell, “Right,” He agreed, “I’ll be by meself up there, it’ll be the best time to try and secure my freedom,” He repeated. 

She was upset he wasn’t being more helpful,  _ he  _ was the pirate, but he was leaving them with no choice but to figure it out for themselves really, “Your hands will be tied, so you won’t be much help,” She began, furrowing her brow in thought once more, “We’ll need to get the noose off of your neck.” 

Will shrugged, “Or we could keep him from falling,” He decided, looking between the two of them once more, “If it gets tricky anyways, I’ll aim for the noose, but if it’s too late, I’ll aim for your feet,” He explained, nodding to Jack as if to ask him if his plan was good enough. 

Jack didn’t have the chance to speak up before Isabella was, “That’s your idea?” She demanded, “Throw a sword at him and hope you can hit either his noose or hope that he can balance well enough to keep himself alive?” She demanded, unsure if it would work, and not wanting Jack to die because of them. 

If their plan didn’t work his death would be on their hands, especially if he died during their escape plan. 

“It’s crazy enough it just might work,” Jack was smiling, clearly he thought very fondly of Will’s plan. 

Isabella frowned, “Or he’ll die,” She frowned, gesturing towards Jack. 

“That’s where I’m at anyways luv, might as well give it our best shot,” He said, shrugging his shoulders. 

Will turned to her then, “I’ll find you at noon, that’s when we’ll most likely gather to watch, and I’ll make sure to be as close to him as possible, and while I deal with the Navy that’s closest, you try to untie him,” He decided, his plan becoming more and more of a reality for the three of them.

Isabella sighed, deciding that there was no was she’d be able to change their minds to get them to think through their scheme any longer, “Alright then, I guess that’s what we’re going to do, if you’re okay with that?” She asked, turning to Jack who looked content. 

“Aye, more than okay, I’m just grand,” He agreed, slinking back into his cell and letting himself fall down against the wall, lounging once more like he had been the first time she’d visited him in his cell. 

She sighed through her nose but was left with no choice but to agree with their crazy plan, which was so crazy it might actually work. Will was quick to give a nod towards Jack, as he began to pull Isabella along by the arm, “We’ll see you in the morning, Jack,” He called over his shoulder, leading her to the stairs. 

But just when Will was about to pull her out of the long hallway, she pulled back, patting Will on the arm, “I think I’m going to stay for another moment,” She confessed, pulling away from him and turning towards Jack. 

She wasn’t sure what made her want to turn back to Jack, but she knew that there was more for the two of them to say to one another before she saw him the next morning being sent to his death. Will narrowed his eyes for a moment, looking back at Jack’s cell before he nodded to her, “Don’t stay out too late, I trust you’ll leave soon,” He said, before turning his back on her and heading up the stairs by himself. 

She turned away from Will and faced Jack’s cell once more, not quite knowing what she was going to say to him but knowing that she had to talk to him before they would likely never see each other again, not that she cared about seeing him again. 

Jack seemed surprised to see her return to his cell as he straightened himself up, “Couldn’t stay away?” He asked, a grin stretched out across his face. 

Isabella rolled her eyes, “You seem to be in very high spirits for someone being sent to their death,” She snapped, not wanting to deal with his insistent flirting. 

Her comment didn’t seem to deter him though as he climbed to his feet once more and walked towards the bars, sliding his hands through so he was resting on the bars, standing closer to her than he had been before, “Lucky me though, I have it on good authority that the governor’s daughter is going to stop it,” He countered, pulling himself that much closer to the bars that separated them. 

She let out a laugh, “Listen, I am sorry I couldn’t get you out of here sooner,” She sighed, getting straight to the point so she could leave sooner rather than later. 

Jack still didn’t seem to be deterred by his impending death at any cost though, “Sounds like ye really are starting to warm up to me, luv,” He said, looking very pleased with himself. 

Isabella frowned as she took a step closer to the man behind the bars, “Quite the opposite actually,  _ Captain Sparrow _ , the sooner we can save you the sooner you can be on your way and out of Port Royal for good,” She quipped back, staring him down. 

He frowned for the first time since she’d seen him that night, his hands wringing together as he fiddled with his rings, “You don’t mean that luv, and you know why?” He demanded, his dark eyes boring into hers. 

She didn’t want to play into whatever he was implying, she knew she should’ve turned around and left, went back to her home to get ready for the crazy scheme they were going to pull off tomorrow, but for some reason she couldn’t pull away, “Why?” She challenged, narrowing her eyes at him. 

Her hands came up to grab the cell bars below where his arms were hanging out, she was too curious and needed to see where this was going. Jack wasted no time in leaning in closer to her, his hands getting even closer to her, “Because dearie, you’re going to miss the thrills of gallivanting with pirates,” He began, continuing before Isabella could disagree with him, “You’re going to miss traveling with me,” Jack grinned as he finished, gauging her expression. 

Immediately, Isabella pulled a face, leaning away from him but Jack was quick to use his strange position to grab onto her hands and pull her back towards him, keeping her in place against the bars just as he was, “Let go,” She demanded, wasting no time in pulling against him. 

Jack was practically beaming at that point, “You’re very demanding for someone who is claiming to help me,” He accused, his grip tightening on her as she attempted to wriggle her way out of his tight hold. 

“That’s because if you want my help you should listen to what I’m asking,” She countered, grunting when Jack pulled her even closer, releasing one of her hands so his free one could now roam against the side of her arm. 

She quickly used her one free hand to slap his away from her multiple times before she realized that he was not going to give up with his strange attempt to ‘cop a feel,’ and that it was pretty much pointless to push him away, “Sticks and stones,” He repeated the phrase she’d found him using a lot around her as he realized that she stopped fighting him, for the most part, and took advantage of the situation by sliding his free hand around her waist, crowding her against the bars just as he was. 

“Saving your life does not mean the same thing as letting you  _ grope _ me,” She hissed, her anger getting the better of her, and at that moment all she wanted to do was leave, she’d apologized, there was nothing else left for her to do here. 

Jack’s mouth fell open in mock shock, “Grope? I would never lay me hands impurely on a lady without her consent,” He continued to tease, his hand resting on her waist trailing up and down her side, irritating her further. 

She slapped at his arm once more, but he refused to move it, jerking her forward once more so she was forced to catch herself on the bars before he could force her to crash into them, “What do you call this, then?” She demanded, scowling up at him. 

Isabella knew that she had to get out of there, she knew this wasn’t a good idea for her to be here any longer, for some reason she acted differently around Jack, it was something she couldn’t explain, and she didn’t want to stick around to find out what would happen now. She would save him tomorrow with Will’s help and then he would be out of their lives forever. 

“This is different, obviously,” He decided without hesitation, “You aren’t  _ fighting _ it,” Jack breathed, his face getting as close to hers as possible with the bars between them. 

She pulled at his hand once more, its grip still tight on her own, but it wasn’t moving, “Obviously,” She mocked, letting her nails dig into his hand and finally being able to rip hers away, “I am,” 

Isabella moved to pull his hand from around her waist, but Jack was quicker, her gave her waist another sharp tug, distracting her so his recently freed hand could slip into her hair, gathering up her auburn hair against the back of her skull, “You think you are, but if you were you would’ve left when Mr. Turner left moments ago,” He decided, using his grip on her hair to angle her face so she wasn’t looking at his arm around her trying to get him off her, and instead forcing her to look up at him. 

“I stayed to apologize, I was trying to be decent,” She argued once more, feeling angry that he’d practically managed to immobilize her from inside of a cell. 

Jack grinned, “Decent people don’t flirt with pirates Izzy,” He teased, clearly trying to get under her skin. 

Without wasting another moment, she remembered how she’d escaped his grip the first time and let her hands to into his cell for the first time, her right hand striking the side of his face and causing him to let go of her immediately from the unexpected attack. 

She immediately backed up out of his reach so he couldn’t assault her once more, but for some reason she couldn’t run away from his cell without saying anything, she felt like he would be winning if she did that, “I haven’t flirted with any pirates thank you,” She hissed, “Now, I am going back to my home, I will see you in the morning and after that, I expect to never see you again,” Isabella decided, trying to figure out if she was convincing herself or Jack of what she just said but after a moment she realized she could figure that out on her own later when she was by herself again. 

Isabella turned on her heel, ready to leave the room before Jack could pull her back in once more, but of course he had to speak up before she was able to slip away to the safety of her own home, “Never see me again?” He spoke up, not hesitating at all, “That’s quite the promise,” Her head shot back towards him without thinking to see his eyes sparkle with excitement. 

She frowned, “It should be fairly easy, I don’t see any problems with never seeing you again,” She countered, hesitating right before the stairway. 

“I think you’re going to miss it,” Jack shrugged, “The adventure… S’not something you’ll get in this place,” Jack looked around the cell, his nose wrinkled in disdain, “ _ If _ you and William can keep me from the gallows, then there’s a spot on me ship for you,” He finished, looking almost uninterested in his proposal. 

Her eyes widened, he was practically asking her to stay with him, to stay with his crew on the Black Pearl, assuming he could get his ship back again, “Are you serious?” She asked, her mind not quite being able to keep up with the implications of his offer. 

Jack nodded, “Aye, luv, serious as ever,” He was grinning, looking like he knew what her answer was going to be already. 

She frowned, her mind was racing and she wasn’t quite sure what to think! She didn’t know what was going through his mind, but she could tell he was trying to hide something based on his impassive look, she just couldn’t tell what it was. She didn’t know how to respond either, surely he had to be joking, nothing good could come out of her continuing to ‘adventure’ with his crew, she was meant to be at port royal with her family, but she couldn’t deny that a small part of her was curious, not that he could possibly know that. 

“What makes you so sure” She demanded, narrowing her eyes at him. 

He was egging her on, she could see that from a mile away, but she wasn’t sure why she continued to talk to him, clearly he was relishing in it, “You’re an open book, Izzy, I’d know what you were thinking no matter what,” He shrugged, looking like it was no big deal, but to her it was, the only person that could read her that well before Jack was Elizabeth, but she wasn’t even sure her sister could know what she was thinking the second she thought it, like Jack did. She really couldn’t explain it, it was very curious. 

Instead of admitting that he may have been right, she wasn’t going to let him know that of her own free will if she could help it. With a roll of her eyes, Isabella turned back towards the exit, talking over her shoulder, “I don’t believe you,” She tossed over her shoulder, “I’ll see you in the morning, goodnight Captain,” She finished, wanting to leave his cell as quickly as possible.

She didn’t turn around as he shouted his goodbyes to her, “Of course ye don’t, luv. The offer will still stand in the morning,” He finished just as she’d rounded the corner and ascended the stairs, leaving him alone once more. 

As quickly as she possibly could she ran home, hoping that no one would spot her and she’d be able to slip back into her room quietly without anyone noticing, and thankfully with that being her main goal at the moment, she wasn’t about to think about her conversation with Jack until she was safely back in her own bedroom, tucked under the covers once more. 

When she was alone once more, it was hard to stop herself from thinking about Jack’s parting words to her. Could he really mean it, could her really want her to sail on board with him? After a long time of just mulling it over she decided that he had to be messing with her, he had to be making some elaborate joke that she couldn’t understand for some reason, there was no other explanation that she could comprehend. 

Once she was able to come up with that though, it got a lot easier for her to let herself fall asleep, her mind still racing even in dreams, all of them focused on how impossible their task seemed for the next morning. 

* * *

 

Isabella was forced to stand next to her father, Elizabeth, and James, further away from where Jack was supposed to be hung. Elizabeth had been clued in on their crazy plan, and mercifully she agreed to help them, which she wasn’t quite sure she would want to do, but she was very pleased she had agreed! Elizabeth had told her that she would attempt to distract James if it came down to her needing to do that, which Isabella was sure would happen eventually, and Will and Jack would be very grateful for her help, she hoped. 

It didn’t take long for the noose to be tightened around Jack’s neck, clearly the Navy wanted this done as quickly as possible, and shortly after that the official was talking, but Isabella was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she couldn’t quite hear what he was saying. Besides, she already knew Jack was a pirate, she didn’t need to hear more about his notoriousness, she figured she knew enough about that already. 

“This is wrong,” Elizabeth breathed, looking up towards Norrington in hopes that he might agree with her, but he was just looking at Jack, his features hard. 

Their father answered instead, “Commodore Norrington is bound by the law, as are we all,” He murmured, nodding in response to Elizabeth’s comment. 

Isabella’s eyes fixed on Jack after that, not wanting to hear her father speak on the matter any longer, and she frowned when she saw a small smile come to his face for a brief moment before he quickly wiped it away. 

Before any of them could say anything else, Will was stepping up in front of them, greeting each one of them until he finally turned to Elizabeth, who looked rather surprised to see him standing in front of them, since this was not part of the plan, “Elizabeth,” He greeted, “I should’ve told you every day from the moment I met you, I love you,” He paused for a moment, nodding to Elizabeth who looked shocked before he raised his sword and turned towards the crowd, running straight towards Jack. 

Norrington immediately noticed what was going on and moved to stop him, but before he could, Elizabeth had fallen backwards in a faint, catching both James’ and their father’s attention so Isabella could slip into the crowd behind Will. There was a lot of commotion from where Will was running, he was pushing people out of the way in an attempt to get to Jack in time and Isabella was trailing after him, not bringing as much attention to herself as his shouting was bringing him. 

Just then, the insistent drumming stopped and Isabella could hear someone shout to drop Jack at the same time that Will parted the crowd and threw his sword forwards, sending it straight through the wood by Jack’s feet. 

As soon as Isabella reached Jack’s side, he’d miraculously managed to get himself on the ground, using Will’s embedded sword to free his hands, “You didn’t even need my help,” She breathed, her one job coming to an end as he managed to free himself. 

He just grinned at her, not having time to respond as Will joined them, urging Jack forwards and away from the Navy. Isabella was left behind, watching as the two of them fought side by side in an attempt to keep Jack’s freedom. She returned to Elizabeth’s side as her sister and father began to follow after Jack and Will, catching up to the two of them only once the two culprits were surrounded by the Navy, at least two dozen swords pointed directly at the two of them. 

Isabella gasped, and without thinking she surged forwards, coming to stand next to Will, keeping Jack shielded from James’ view. Norrington looked like he was about to say something but balked when Isabella moved to stand with the two men, “I’m sorry,” She decided, shaking her head at her father, “I can’t let you condemn him after he saved my sister,” Isabella decided, hoping that her father would get the men to lower their weapons. 

With a worried look on his face, her father finally was able to speak up, “Lower your weapons,” He demanded, “For goodness sake, put them down!” 

The swords that surrounded them were immediately lowered and just as that happened, Isabella could feel Jack hovering behind her, his breath hitting the back of her neck, but she did her best to ignore the sensation as James began to speak, completely ignoring her standing behind Will, “I thought we would have to endure some manner of ill conceived escape attempt, but not from you,” He was directing his comments towards Will, but a part of Isabella wondered if he was speaking to her as well, she was just glad that she’d managed to get the swords lowered for the mean time. 

The Governor was finally able to turn his disappointed gaze away from Isabella for a moment to frown at Will, who was holding a hand in front of her as if attempting to protect her from the men surrounding them, “On our return to port Royal, I granted you clemency, and this is how you thank me?” Her father nearly hissed, sounding more angry than she’d heard him sound in a while, “By throwing in your lot with him? He’s a pirate!” He finished, sending another worried glance Isabella’s way. 

“And a good man,” Isabella immediately countered, not wanting Will to be the only one taking the brunt of her father and James’ anger at the situation. 

Jack was moving around behind the two of them once more before Will had the chance to speak up once more, “If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn two pairs of boots instead of one, than so be it, at least my conscious will be clear,” He decided, still staring down the two men in front of them. 

James took a step forward, coming nearly face to face with Will, “You forget your place, Turner,” He sneered. 

Will gave a sneer of his own, a strange feature to see on his face, “It’s right here, between you and Jack,” He decided, not backing down. 

It took her a moment to figure out what had happened next because before she knew it, hands were on her hips pulling her backwards and Elizabeth was surging forwards, wrapping her arms around Will’s bicep, holding herself against him, “As is mine,” She said, and Isabella was so happy that her sister joined them that it took her a moment to realize that Jack had been the one to pull her backwards, practically wrapping his arms around her in front of James, her father, and an entire group of soldiers! She was thankful she was hidden behind Elizabeth and Will now, because she knew her father wouldn’t react well to seeing Jack’s arms around her so casually, not that she was thrilled about it either, but she didn’t feel like there was much she could do about it at the moment. 

Will and Elizabeth were still arguing a little bit with her father and James, but that became a secondary thought once Jack started to whisper in her ear, “They came back,” He breathed, and she had to turn her head to see his gaze was locked on Cotton’s parrot who had perched himself on the top of one of the Navy’s flags that was proudly flying above their heads. 

She managed to shake him off of her then, the distraction of the parrot being enough for him to slip away from her, “What are you waiting for then,” She grumbled back in response, wanting to get him out of here as quickly as possible. 

“Are ye ready?” He asked, quickly grabbing onto her once more, his hand latching onto hers, “The offer still stands, darling,” Jack shot her a grin, “Ready to leave with a pirate?” His fingers had laced through hers at that point and he was staring at her, looking expectedly towards her. 

Isabella felt herself seize up, she wasn’t sure what to do at all, she knew she couldn’t leave with him but for some reason her fingers threaded between his own, but she couldn’t look at him, she  _ couldn’t _ leave Port Royal, let alone leave her family. 

“So this is where your heart truly lies, then?” She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard James talking to Elizabeth once more. 

Her sister nodded and agreed with James just as Jack gave another tug on Isabella’s hand, urging her to answer him, but before she could say anything he was speaking up, dropping her hand in the process, but she had a bad feeling he wasn’t done with her yet, “Well, I’m actually feeling rather good about this,” Jack decided, pushing past Will and Elizabeth so Isabella was in her father’s sight once more as he purposely strut straight up to him, “I think we’ve all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually, ecumenically, grammatically?” Jack shot a quick wink towards Isabella before he turned to James, “I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate, know that,” He confessed before quickly turning to face Elizabeth, flashing her a quick grin, “Elizabeth, it would’ve never worked out between us, I’m sorry,” He said, placing a sorrowful hand over his heart before he turned to the man next to her, “Will,” Jack paused, cocking his head to the side, “Nice hat,” He decided, pushing past the two of them once more to reach Isabella, “And you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner. 

Really with this little stunt he’d pulled, it made it all that much easier for her to say goodbye to the pirate, not liking being put in the spotlight in front of all of these people, “Good luck, Jack,” She decided, pretending not to notice how he looked almost surprised at her answer, but he was quick to get over it, nodding for a moment before flashing another grin at her. 

“Until we meet again,” He decided, grasping her hand and pressing a chaste kiss to it before he ran over to the edge of the building where Elizabeth had fallen off weeks ago, “Friends!” He called, snapping Isabella back to attention once she’d heard his voice again, her stupor of having him kiss her hand ending immediately, “This is the day that you will always remember as the day that-” Jack didn’t even have a chance to finish his sentence because with a step backwards Jack tripped and fell straight over the edge of the building, falling into the water below. 

Isabella wasted no time in running forward to the edge of the building to see Jack’s head of dark hair emerge from the water, looking more than safe from the fall he’d just suffered, “Idiot,” Gillette laughed, having also come up to look over the edge as Isabella had, “He’s nowhere to go but back to the noose!” But no one was focused on his laughter, especially not Isabella. 

Her eyes had left Jack’s bobbing head to watch as a familiar black-sailed ship rounded the corner, most likely on full display for all of Port Royal at the moment! Isabella had to force herself to not laugh at the appearance of the familiar pirates, she almost couldn’t believe they were actually here, even after seeing Cotton’s parrot, it was almost too good to be true… for Jack, anyways. 

“Sail ho!” Someone called, noticing the ship turning towards their island. 

With a quick glance back down to Jack, she could see his lithe figure swimming towards the Pearl, cutting across the water pretty quickly at that. 

“What’s your plan of action, sir?” Gillette demanded, turning to face Norrington who had also been watching Jack swim towards his ship. 

Isabella turned around just as her father spoke up, looking between her and her sister, “Perhaps,” He began, looking almost thoughtful, “On the right occasion pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy, then piracy itself can be the right course?” He questioned, turning his gaze to Will and offering him a brief smile. 

“Mr. Turner,”  James asked, turning to Will as well. 

Will, with Elizabeth still on his arm, turned to her and squeezed her hand in reassurance, “I will accept the consequences of my actions,” He decided before taking a step away from her to listen to what James had to say to him. 

Isabella nearly flinched when James pulled out the sword that Will had made for him just a few short weeks ago, even though it felt like a lifetime, but thankfully he was just admiring it, “This is a beautiful sword,” He decided, his eyes flickering from the sword up to Will, “I would expect the man who made it to show the same care and devotion to every aspect in his life,” He finished, looking sadly towards Elizabeth before tearing his eyes away from the pair. 

“Thank you,” Will agreed, moving back to Elizabeth’s side. 

Isabella couldn’t believe what she was seeing, both her father and Norrington were just accepting this without questioning anything about it. It was unheard of, but at the same time she wasn’t going to question it any further. 

“Commodore,” Gillette asked again, “What about Sparrow?” He asked, looking like he wanted to drop his jaw in response to what all of them just witnessed. 

James turned to look out over the water once more, “Well, I think we can afford to give him one day’s head start,” He concluded, and with one last look towards Elizabeth, he left the four of them alone, taking his soldiers with him. 

Isabella gave Will and Elizabeth a quick smile, she didn’t want to stick around too long while the two of them finally expressed their feelings towards each other, there was no point in ruining their time together now, she’d have plenty of time to interrupt the two of them later she was sure, so for now she knew she wanted to get back home and  _ finally  _ be able to rest. 

“So,” Their father spoke up, looking between Will and Elizabeth, “This is the path you’ve chosen? After all, he is a blacksmith,” He decided, with a small shrug, as if it mattered to Elizabeth at this point after he’d traveled so far to save her life. 

Isabella could’ve sworn that Elizabeth was about to laugh at her father’s accusation as she slid off Will’s hat in response, “No,” She disagreed, tossing the hat to the ground, “He’s a pirate,” It didn’t take long for Isabella to turn away from the scene, practically dragging her father with her, since she was sure he didn’t want to watch them embrace much more than she did. 

Once the two of them had made it a little ways away from him she couldn’t help but speak up, “It’s rather funny, I almost didn’t expect you both to change your minds,” She nearly whispered, not wanting to bring up the subject to her father, but her curiosity getting the better of her. 

The Governor turned to her as he crossed his hands behind his back, keeping pace with her, “Well, I suppose love makes us do crazy things,” He decided after a moment of contemplating his answer. 

She smiled in response, happy to hear that there was at least something that could change her father’s mindset about his strict rule following ways, “I know I’m speaking for both Elizabeth and myself when I say that I’m proud of you,” She smiled, nudging him with her shoulder and letting out a small laugh. 

“Yes, well,” Her father hesitated, “Of course it was for Elizabeth, I’m still not sure how much we can trust that Mr. Turner, especially since he had gone off gallivanting with pirates,” He decided, wrinkling his nose in disdain, “But I trust Elizabeth, and yourself,” He finished. 

Isabella nearly laughed again, knowing fully well that Will was not a threat at all to Elizabeth or their family and she was sure that in time her father would come to realize that as well, or at least he would stop being so outright rude to her future brother, or she hoped he would come to fill that role, she wouldn’t want anyone else to marry her sister, “Will is no more pirate than I am,” She said after a moment, “I can assure you of that,” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she realized that she wasn’t quite sure of what she was confessing. 

Of course Will was a good man, but so was Jack, and Will wouldn’t do anything else that would take him on the route to becoming a pirate, but there was always a possibility that something crazy and adventurous could drag him back to their previous few weeks on a pirate ship, and of course there was a crazy chance she could be dragged back too. To say a part of her wasn’t considering Jack’s earlier offer would be a lie as well, but she wasn’t quite sure if she was willing to admit that at the moment. 

There was something alluring about being a pirate- or maybe not a pirate for her sake, but being an adventurer, being on the open waters and having no responsibilities was something she’d never really gotten to experience and even though they were on a quest to save her sister, there was never a dull moment, and there was something quite exhilarating about the whole affair. And then there had been all the odd characters that she’d been able to meet on her adventure, Jack’s crew was an odd bunch but she’d been able to get along with a few of them quite well, she was sad she’d never really gotten a proper chance to say goodbye, but it was for the best, perhaps if she’d been able to talk to the crew more she would have wanted to leave them even less. There was also Jack to worry about too, sure he was gone, but there was no way she wasn’t going to hear stories about him as her and Elizabeth always have, it was practically inevitable, he was pretty much always going to be a part of her life now, and there was nothing she could do about that. 

Jack had basically come into her life for less than three weeks and turned it all upside down, he’d practically been the reason pirates came to town, he’d saved her sister from drowning, taken her and Will on a crazy adventure, saved her sister  _ again _ , nearly died on an island together and finally let her save him for the first time, and then let her save him again- only after asking her to practically run away with him, something that she just couldn’t do. 

She felt almost remorseful at the thought of never seeing Jack again, her once in a lifetime adventure finally coming to an end, but it was for the best, and at the same time she was grateful to have a break from all the constant teasing and flirting! Sure she knew it was all in good fun on his end, but there was nothing proper about it, and it exhausted her to no end trying to block all of his petty advances and she was glad to finally have a break to be able to get back to her normal life! The only thing was that she wasn’t sure how long she would be happy in her normal life after experiencing something  _ not _ normal for the first time in forever. 

“I think I’m going to go for a quick walk on the beach,” Isabella said, pausing her stride as her father continued forwards, “I’ll come home soon, I just want to be alone for a moment, if that’s alright?” She asked, hoping he wouldn’t put up a fuss about it. 

He didn’t seem to mind at all thankfully, waving his hand in response to her, “Of course, don’t stray for too long,” He decided, continuing on their path towards their house and barely sparing her a second glance. 

She was quick to wander down towards the beach where she and Will had first helped Jack escape with his crazy scheme to hide underneath one of the small dinghies to escape to the Interceptor, it felt like a lifetime ago, and she was happy to reminisce now that it was all over. 

Her walk on the beach didn’t last long, she just wanted to get some fresh air by herself, it had been too long since she’d gotten a moment alone, especially when Jack was concerned, it felt like she was never alone when he was around, which was almost comforting, but at the same time it was smothering too, not that she minded that as much… She couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with Jack and his crew at the moment, she was sure he made it onboard, but she couldn’t help but wonder where he was taking them at the moment. 

He was a pirate, he could be taking them anywhere, they could be doing anything and she was stuck in Port Royal, but she’d only made the decision less than an hour ago, she couldn’t be regretting it already, and she  _ didn’t _ regret it, she knew that she made the right decision, she had to have made the right decision, there was no other decision to make, she belonged in Port Royal with her sister, all that work to get her sister back would’ve been for nothing if she’d just decided to get back onboard with Captain Jack Sparrow! 

Rolling her eyes and shaking the thought out of her head, Isabella decided it would be best to head back to her house after that, she didn’t want to keep her father waiting for too long and she hoped that Elizabeth would be back by now so she could grill into her about what was going on with her and Will, she was more than excited to have that conversation now that the two of them had finally confessed their feelings together! She really thought that after their adventure on the Isla De Muerta that the two of them would’ve confessed, or kissed, or something, but at least it had happened by now, better late than never, for that matter. 

When she arrived back at her home she was happily greeted by her father’s staff, and even though she considered herself very good friends with the staff, none of it felt very real, they were being paid, they weren’t real life… but at the same time they were all she’d ever known. This was real, this was home, and this was something she was going to have to get used to all over again, it seemed. 

With a sigh, she realized that Elizabeth was not home yet and her father had clearly retired for the night, leaving her to her own once more, and the more time that she got to herself, the more she realized that she didn’t really care for being alone as much as she used to. It was boring, being alone, but here she was, tucked away in her room, having dismissed Alyssa and Shannon and letting herself stew in her thoughts, something she’d done way too often since meeting Jack, there was just so much to think about recently. 

At least she knew that this adventure of hers had changed her, and she believed that it had changed her for the better, and she knew it wouldn’t take her too long to get used to living in Port Royal again, it was her life, all she’d ever known until the last three weeks, and if she could live here for her whole life, she could continue doing it without much of a problem, she just suspected it would take her a few days to get back into the swing of things. 

Something she was more than willing to wait for. She was willing to wait for normalcy, wanting to get back to her routine and live her normal life again, and she was sure she’d be able to get back to that as soon as she let herself stop thinking about pirates, and more importantly, as soon as she stopped thinking about Captain Jack Sparrow. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pt. 2

It didn’t take long for Port Royal to turn back to normal after Jack had left the island for good, the gossip surrounding Isabella’s family and Will quickly disappeared after he’d been gone for long enough, and shortly after Will had confessed his feelings to Elizabeth, the two of them had gotten engaged! But overall, things were fairly normal once more in Port Royal. Elizabeth and Will seemed to really enjoy the normalcy they had once more, and they especially enjoyed the newfound comfort they’d found with one another, but Isabella found herself thinking differently than the couple most of the time. It was strange at first, she enjoyed the comfort of home, but she could tell that her father was keeping a closer eye on her and Elizabeth for the first few weeks, along with the staff, but of course like everything else that had gone on in the last year, that had died down eventually too. But Isabella found herself getting almost  _ bored _ in Port Royal. 

Once she realized it was boredom she was feeling and she  _ wasn’t _ actually dying, which was her first thought, she tried to start doing things to cure her boredom, but in Port Royal that didn’t go over too well. First she tried going for a swim in the ocean, but she was quickly reprimanded and that turned into her just lounging on the shore, but once more she was pulled away from that luxury, being told she shouldn’t sit out in the sun so long, she wouldn’t want to burn, and even though she knew that wouldn’t happen she was still pulled away from the beach. Talking to people in the town wasn’t so easy either, some people didn’t care too much for the Swann siblings because of their pirate adventure and wouldn’t even bother to speak to her, but those weren’t the people she cared to talk to most of the time. She would sneak into the small tavern in Port Royal sometimes to meet travelers and people she didn’t normally get the chance to speak to in her day to day life. It didn’t take long for someone to find out about that one, and thankfully it was only Will and Elizabeth, and it didn’t take long for Will to try to convince her to not go out at night anymore, it was a good thing Elizabeth was on her side and they came up with a compromise, if Will was with her she would be allowed to go to the tavern and have her fun, but he didn’t like when she talked to strangers, which was the only reason she really wanted to go out on her nighttime excursions. So that quickly died out too, her excitement for her nighttime adventures dwindling away with every day, and her boredom becoming more and more prevalent. 

Lately the only thing that kept her excited was Elizabeth and Will’s upcoming wedding, which she was pleased to have a hand in planning. Isabella always considered herself a planner, which was why this was something she enjoyed so much, it was normal, but not boring, and she was getting to help out her two favorite people in the entire world, so she couldn’t complain about that. The wedding was sneaking up on them very quickly, and everyone seemed to have a hand in putting it together, even their father who was still hesitant about Will forked over everything Elizabeth requested, and the two of them, over the course of the last year, seemed to be warming up to each other just the slightest bit. Isabella wished that her father could have a better relationship with Will for Elizabeth’s sake, but she was sure he would get there eventually, she knew that once someone got to know Will that they couldn’t  _ not _ like him, and besides, their father would do most anything for them. 

With the wedding coming up, Elizabeth was busy nearly every day, which meant Isabella was busy every day, the two of them hardly had time to think about anything except for the wedding. Elizabeth had trusted Isabella to plan most of the event by herself, and of course she was quick to run everything through Elizabeth before she decided on it, the only thing she didn’t have to deal with was the guest list which she considered a blessing, it must’ve been such a bore to put together a list of people who their father would approve of and who would get along with Will’s own guests, even though his list wasn’t very long. 

Isabella really wanted to make sure everything was perfect for their wedding, it was going to be the perfect wedding for the most perfect couple! The only thing that was out of her control was the weather. 

The morning of their big day, the rain started, and while it was pretty light at first, as the day progressed the heavier the rain got. Isabella still helped Elizabeth get ready though, despite her arguments that maybe they should just reschedule, her sister insisted, and she was the one getting married so there were no arguments from Isabella after that. 

It became clear to Isabella before Elizabeth that the wedding was off, she knew it pretty much once she saw the first cloud in the sky, and then the guests didn’t show up. The biggest sign was when Will was nowhere to be seen. 

“Maybe he assumed- because of the rain?” Isabella tried, standing next to her sister as the rain soaked them to the bone, their expensive dressed past the point of ruin by this point. 

Elizabeth shook her head, her eyes locked on the rows of tables set up in front of them, but she refused to say anything, her gaze focused solely on the scene set up in front of her. 

Despite her hesitation to stay with her sister, she decided it would only hurt Elizabeth more if she left too, so she stayed, and it was about another half hour before anything of any particular interest happened. 

A man approached the two sisters from behind, his footsteps falling heavy and immediately catching Isabella’s attention, leaving her to tug her sister around so the two of them were facing the man approaching them at a fairly rapid pace, “Miss Swann,” He greeted, looking at Isabella before turning to Elizabeth, “Miss Sw-” He began, only to be cut off swiftly by Elizabeth. 

“Mrs. Turner,” She interjected, not looking too interested in what he had to say. 

The man nodded immediately, “My apologies, Mrs. Turner,” He corrected, “Pardon me, but your father wanted me to give you both fair warning; There are soldiers, in Port Royal, he’s worried it might have something to do with the pirating activities that went on here a year ago,” He explained rather quickly. 

Immediately, Isabella was on high alert, there was no real reason for soldiers to be in Port Royal, they had dealt with their pirate situation a year ago and their island had plenty of Navy soldiers, not like they needed any more! 

“Thank you,” Isabella was able to get out, after she was able to process what was going on at the moment, “We should go,” She said, turning to her sister. 

Elizabeth nodded and was quick to grab onto Isabella’s hand, dragging her away from the wedding party before the two sisters quickly set off in a trot further into the town, hoping to come across their father. Elizabeth quickly spotted a group of soldiers underneath an awning of sorts, protecting themselves from the rain unlike the two sisters and she wasted no time in pulling Isabella directly towards the mix. 

“Will,” She demanded, seeing her fiance’s hands cuffed together in irons, “Why is this happening?” 

Isabella found herself standing with Elizabeth and Will, her confusion as she eyed the soldiers surrounding them, it didn’t take her long to figure out that they were from the East India Trading Company and that thought made her stomach drop. She was so wrapped up in trying to take in some of the faces of the men surrounding them she found herself surprised when her father had pushed his way through the soldiers to get closer to them. 

“Make way, let me through!” He demanded, surging forward until he was let through, but before he could get to where Elizabeth and Isabella were standing, two of the soldiers pulled out their swords, blocking him from getting any further, “How dare you! Stand your men down at once, do you hear me?” He had turned to face one man who was standing in the middle of the circle of soldiers but had his back to Isabella. 

The man turned around as one of his men helped him take off his coat, “Governor Weatherby Swann, it’s been too long,” The man said with a small smirk on his face, one that Isabella decided she detested as soon as she saw his face. 

“Cutler Beckett?” Her father demanded, his brow furrowing. 

Beckett’s smirk dropped as he walked closer to her father who was still standing behind the two solider’s swords, “It’s Lord now, actually,” He corrected, a clear air of superiority in the way he spoke. 

Just then the swords across her father were put down, most likely at Beckett’s request and her father was allowed to move forward, “Lord or not, you have no reason or authority to arrest this man,” He demanded, pointing towards Will. 

Isabella couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit proud about that, at least he had warmed up to Will enough that he would want to keep him from being arrested, if only for Elizabeth’s sake at least it was something, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t going to go well for any of them in the near future, they were just going to have to wait and see what was going on. 

She could tell instantly by the look on Beckett’s face that he knew something the rest of them didn’t, “Actually, I do,” He said before motioning for a man to bring something forward. A large wooden box was presented to Beckett and he quickly pulled out a piece of parchment from which he began to read from, “The warrant for the arrest of one William Turner,” He read, passing the paper over to her father so he could read it for himself. 

His brow furrowed as he read, his eyes flickering over to Elizabeth before he looked back up at Beckett, “This warrant’s for Elizabeth Swann,” He breathed, almost like he didn’t want to have to say it out loud. 

Isabella watched as Beckett barely displayed any sense of confusion, it looked like he knew what he was doing when he gave the Governor that parchment, “Oh, it is?” He asked, raising a brow before looking back at Elizabeth, “That’s annoying, my mistake… arrest her,” Beckett wasted no time in pointing towards Elizabeth and gesturing for his men to put her in irons. 

Beckett was calmly sifting through the box of papers as Will and Elizabeth argued the arrest before he pulled out another three pieces of paper, “Ah, here’s the one for William Turner, and another one for Miss Isabella Swann,” His dark eyes flashed over to hers just as she was grabbed from behind by the soldiers, as they maneuvered to put irons around her wrists, and he continued to speak over the arguments of everyone being arrested, “And I have another one for Mr. James Norrington, is he here?” He asked, flashing the paper around so all could see, but James had been gone for a while, no one really knew where he went off to. He’d stuck around for a little while after Elizabeth had rejected his proposal, but then he went out to sea, and hasn’t been back since, so they could all but assume the worst for him at the moment. 

“What are the charges?” Isabella spoke up, finally managing to make herself say something in this crazy situation. 

“Commodore Norrington resigned his commission some months ago,” Her father spoke up, almost like he was urging her to be silent. 

Beckett’s eyes shot towards him, “I don’t believe that is the answer to the question I asked,” He snapped. 

“Lord Beckett, in the category of questions not answered-” Will began. 

“We are under the jurisdiction of the King’s governor of Port Royal and you will tell us what we’re charged with,” Elizabeth demanded, an air of calm surrounding her, even though Isabella knew she was fuming. 

Beckett looked towards the Governor once more who still held Elizabeth’s warrant for arrest as he began reading off the paper, “The charge,” He began, his eyes flickering up towards his daughters briefly before he continued to read off the parchment, “Is conspiring to set free a man convicted of crimes against the Crown and Empire and condemned to death, for which the punishment…” He stopped himself with a quick breath, his eyes going wide in surprise. 

“For which the punishment is also death,” Beckett finished, walking towards Will, “Perhaps you remember a pirate named Jack Sparrow?”    


Without even thinking, Isabella was saying “Captain,” At the same time as Elizabeth and Will, strangely wanting to protect his honor against this man who seemed to have a personal vendetta against the man. 

“Captain Jack Sparrow,” Isabella finished for the three of them, her eyes narrowed as she stared down the Lord in front of her. 

He turned towards her, amusement passing over his features briefly before he wiped his face clear of emotion once more, “Captain Jack Sparrow,” He agreed, “Yes, I thought you might,” Beckett’s smirk came back once more, his stare was starting to make her uncomfortable. 

Beckett turned away after a moment, “Well, now that that’s all cleared up, lock them up,” He demanded, turning on his heel and motioning for his soldiers to take them away. 

Isabella could hear her father arguing with Beckett once more, but his arguments quickly were silenced at Beckett’s demand and it didn’t take long for the three new prisoners to be dragged away from the commotion and down to the cells that Isabella had visited more than she ever thought she would have to in her entire life. Too bad this time was different though, she never thought she would be coming down here as a prisoner. 

The three of them were separated almost immediately, put in cells nowhere near each other from what she could tell from where she was locked up anyways. She was put relatively near the exit, she’d had to go further into the jail to find Jack both times he’d been locked up, but maybe she wasn’t as big of a threat so they thought they could place her closer to the exit and it wouldn’t matter. 

Finally once she had a chance to  _ think _ for a moment, she realized just how confusing the situation was! Sure she had thought it was confusing before but now that she had time to think over the whole thing she wasn’t quite sure what to think. Why had the East India Trading Company waited so long to come arrest the three- four including James- of them, you’d think they’d come knocking as soon as they’d heard of the endeavor a year ago. And James’ resignation couldn’t have had anything to do with him knowing about this, could it have? It would make sense for him to leave if he knew he was going to be arrested, if he were anyone but himself at least, James was always a rule follower, and if he had ran away because of this, he surely would’ve given Elizabeth fair warning, right? 

She wasn’t sure how long she’d thought about why they were in this situation before she heard footsteps padding down the hall, heading towards her cell. Isabella stopped her pacing and moved towards the bars so she would have a better view of who was approaching her, she was sure they were coming to find her, but she didn’t know who it was going to be, or why they were coming here. 

Sadly, it wasn’t anyone exciting, like Elizabeth or Will coming to free her from the cell, having already escaped themselves, or her father with most likely some sour news, or even Beckett, who she was sure she would’ve at least had an exciting conversation with, but unfortunately, it was just one of Beckett’s men, who looked down on her with an air of superiority, “Step away from the bars,” He barked, as soon as he approached her. 

She was quick to take a step backwards, her eyes narrowed at the man as he used his set of keys to open the cell door. The man grabbed onto her arm as soon as he’d entered the cell and dragged her forward out into the hallway, hopefully taking her somewhere outside of this horrible jail, “Where are we going?” She asked, not able to keep her mouth shut as he tugged her alongside him, none too gently. 

“I’ve been ordered to take you to Lord Beckett,” He replied, gruffly, his grip on her arm tightening ever so slightly. 

This became more and more curious and she wasn’t sure why she would be brought to Beckett in the first place but at least she was out of her cell, one she hadn’t even been put in for that long, “Why?” She continued to pester, her curiosity getting the best of her. 

They exited the jail at that moment and even though she hadn’t been in the cell for that long she was happy to be in the outdoors once more, and it had stopped raining, she could only hope that meant good things were coming for her, but then the man dragging her along had to ruin her small bit of hope, “Nothing good I’m sure,” He laughed almost snidely, “Now shut it,” Came his order, and she decided that it would be best for her to listen to him for the mean time. 

It didn’t take long for the two of them to reach Beckett’s temporary office in Port Royal, and she was quickly dragged inside, their presence being announced by the man guarding her, “Lord Beckett, the prisoner as you ordered, sir,” He said with a nod before he released her arm and fled from the room, leaving her alone with Beckett, something she wouldn’t have minded when she was behind bars, but now that they were face to face with nothing separating them it was a bit more intimidating to her. 

She was silent as Beckett approached her, his eyes looking up and down her form briefly until he came to stand right in front of her, “I can’t imagine these would be necessary,” He said, his eyes locked down on the irons still tightly clasped around her wrists, “Allow me,” Beckett said, almost politely before he pulled a key out of her pocket, urging her to raise her hands so he could free her wrists from the iron. 

They fell to the ground with a loud clang and she was quick to take a step backwards, “What am I doing here?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. 

Beckett turned around, expecting her to follow him, which she did, hesitantly until he stopped at a small table, “Take a seat, I will explain when the rest of our company arrives,” He told her, pulling out a chair for her. 

She wasn’t quite sure what to do, she could accept the chair and gain his favor for now, or refuse and demand he tell her what he was planning by bringing her here, she decided to refuse in the end, standing her ground, “I’d rather stand, thank you,” She decided, her eyes locked onto his in a challenging way, she did not want to back down and let him know he won, clearly ever since she was led through these doors he’d been challenging her. 

He’d opened his mouth to respond to her, but before she could say anything, the doors were being opened again and another guard was bringing someone else in the room, “The Prisoner, sir,” He said, tugging Will into the room behind him.

Isabella’s eyes lit up, she wasn’t sure why both her and Will had been brought into Beckett’s office, but here they were, and she had no clue what he wanted from them, “There’s no use for those,” He said to the guard, pointing at Will’s irons just like he had done to her. 

Will’s guard was quick to unlock the irons and stand guard at the door, clearly Beckett had ordered him to stand guard while the two of them were in the room with him, which was strange that her guard had left the two of them alone. Isabella wanted to run towards Will, but again she knew that Beckett would think that was a win for himself so she stood her ground next to him at the small table he’d led her over to and watched as he picked up a teapot and poured each of them a cup, passing one to Isabella, which she accepted, and then he offered one to Will, but he did not accept, and Beckett took the cup for himself, taking a small sip before he began talking, “The East India Trading Company has need of your services,” He began, his eyes focused on Will at this point, completely ignoring Isabella, “We wish for you to act as a business transaction with our mutual friend- Captain Sparrow,” He finished, gauging Will’s reaction. 

Will walked further into the room, his eyes flickering between Isabella and Beckett, he clearly wanted to ask her what had happened before he got here but didn’t really have the opportunity to do so at the moment, “More acquaintance than friend, how do you know him?” He asked. 

Beckett had walked over to the fireplace he had and pulled out a small iron rod from the flames, flashing the ominous ‘P’ to his two guests, “We’ve had our dealings in the past, and we’ve left our mark on the other,” He smirked. She couldn’t believe that Beckett had been the one to leave the mark on Jack, she wanted to know how the two of them had met and what their altercation had actually been involved in. 

She couldn’t help but to speak up, even though Beckett was only speaking to Will, “And what mark did he leave on you?” She asked, taking a sip at the rather delicious tea he’d made. 

He turned to face her for a moment but then put his iron back in the fire, ignoring her question, “By your efforts,” He began, turning back towards Will, “Jack Sparrow was set free. I would like for you to go to him and recover a certain property in his possession,” He finished, his explanation only getting more and more confusing to Isabella. 

Will frowned, “Recover?” He asked, “At the point of a sword?” 

Beckett let a smile come to his face, “Bargain,” He explained, opening another box and pulling out a small leather satchel, “Letters of Marque, you will offer what amounts to a full pardon- Jack will be free, a privateer in the employ of England,” Beckett finished, shuffling through a few of the papers he’d pulled out of the leather satchel. 

Thankfully, Will was on the same page as she was so she didn’t have to add her input quite yet, not until the conversation naturally came back to her as well, “Somehow I doubt Jack will consider employment the same as being free,” He argued, his eyes locked onto Beckett’s form. 

He scoffed, clearly not being able to hold in his amusement, “Freedom,” he laughed, putting his papers back in the satchel and sauntered towards his balcony, looking out over Port Royal, leaving his two guests to follow him, “Jack Sparrow is a dying breed. The world is shrinking. The blank edges on the map filled in. Jack must find his place in the new world or perish,” He spun around to face the two of them, looking pleased to see that they had followed almost obediently, “Not unlike you Mr. Turner, you, your friend, and your fiance face the hangman’s noose,” A smirk came back to his face after that, he had to have known he won Will’s compliance when he mentioned Elizabeth’s fate. 

“So you get both Jack, and the Black Pearl?” Will clarified, clearly sounding like he was very much onboard with Beckett’s plan at that point. 

Isabella couldn’t seem to shut herself up at that point, “The Black Pearl?” She demanded, furrowing her brow at Will in confusion, she had a pretty good feeling that it wasn’t the ship that Beckett had wanted. 

Will nodded towards Beckett, tearing his gaze away to let his eyes briefly flash to Isabella, “The piece of property he wants to possess,” He clarified, even though she wasn’t sure how he could’ve come to that conclusion. 

Beckett clearly wasn’t searching for Jack’s ship, it was clear to both of them after Will had phrased his question and Beckett’s face basically spoke for itself, “The item in question is considerably smaller and far more valuable,” He began to explain, “Something Sparrow keeps on him at all times; a compass?” He asked, and at the same time recognition flashed in Isabella’s eyes the same thing happened to Will, making it very clear to Beckett that the two of them knew about Jack’s confusing compass, “Ah, you know it, bring back that compass, or there’s no deal,” The man demanded, leaving the balcony once more and heading into his office. 

Despite Beckett pretty much explaining most of what he wanted Will to accomplish and what he was going to get in return, Elizabeth found herself more confused than before about why she was here, she would’ve had much less on the brain if she had not been brought to Beckett’s office, and she still probably would’ve been focused on why she was locked up and what she could do about it, but that had all changed in a matter of hours and here she was. 

She wasn’t able to stop herself from storming after Beckett and leaving a flustered Will on the balcony, “Lord Beckett, I still don’t understand what my role in all of this is, there must be a reason you’ve brought me here with Will?” She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest as she managed to catch up to him. 

He spun around, raising an eyebrow in her direction, “Ah, yes, it would seem that there still are a few small matters we have yet to discuss,” He turned towards the man who was still guarding the door and motioned for him to come forward, “Mr. Turner, would you please give the two of us a moment alone, we will discuss the final details of your departure in the morning, thank you,” He said, not giving Will time to argue as he was practically dragged out of the room by the guard, clearly not wanting to argue this if it could ruin his chance at freeing himself and Elizabeth. 

“What do you want?” She demanded the instant the door had closed behind Will and the two of them had been left alone once more. 

Beckett paced so he was standing by the table he had invited her to sit at when she’d first walked in, clearly he was a man that didn’t like to sit still for very long, which she found very curious, considering the rest of him came off as calm and collected, “There is the small matter of your freedom we have still yet to discuss,” He began, his eyes flashing with a dangerous calm she had never seen before, one that set her heart racing. 

“I was under the impression that Will’s return of the compass would grant my freedom?” She demanded, hating how out of the loop she felt talking to him. 

“You misunderstand, Mr. Turner is securing his own freedom, along with his fiance’s freedom, but yours was never negotiated with Mr. Turner,” Beckett explained, picking up his forgotten tea cup from before and taking a sip out of it, his eyes never wavering from where Isabella stood. 

She didn’t like this at all, she didn’t like how he stared at her, how he made her feel almost frightened, something being on a pirate ship with a threatening crew couldn’t even do to her, but here she was, standing in front of one man who was able to make her feel that way so easily, “Then what are the negotiations for my own freedom?” She asked, taking the bate and not wanting to let him intimidate her into cluelessness any longer. 

Beckett looked pleased that she asked her question, even though he was clearly leading her on to ask the correct questions in this case, “I’ve already taken the liberty of speaking to your father about your freedom, that was the first order of business I had to take care of before I called you and Mr. Turner, here,” He began, finally sitting down at the table he had been hovering over, relaxing into a much more casual position, which she felt looked very wrong on him, but now was not the time to tell him that. 

“And what did you discuss?” She continued, hating the way he spun his answers, always leaving room for more questions for her to ask. 

He took another sip of his tea, his eyes finally leaving her for a moment before they had flickered back up to her, “The subject of your hand,” He said after a moment’s pause, his eyes wide as he observed her reaction. 

She wasn’t quite sure how to react to the news that had just been thrown at her, to be honest, that was the last thing she’d expected. She’d sooner expect her father to offer his own arrest for her freedom, but this was very far from that, if he had really asked for her hand, then her freedom wasn’t going to be quite how she’d imagined it would be. She realized after some hesitation that it was taking her much too long to answer him in her shock and her overwhelmed mind worked quickly to come up with another question that he would’ve wanted to hear in response to what he’d just dropped on her. 

“And what did my father say on that subject?” She asked, somehow managing to keep her anger at bay, but she was sure if Jack were here he would say something about how her eyes were burning with anger, not that she wanted to think about  _ him _ at the moment, but for some reason the thought came to the forefront of her mind. 

Beckett looked very amused at her struggling to comprehend what kind of situation she was in, “He said that you were not being pursued by anyone at the moment, but were welcome to respectful offers, although this one might not be as respectful as he had hoped,” He mused, brushing off some imaginary lint from his jacket, looking very at peace with the whole thing. 

Her eyes widened at the implication, clearly she knew what he had meant when she confessed to asking her father about her hand, but this was something else entirely, this was almost a proposal, “You’re right, it’s not very respectful at all,” She quipped, hoping that her argumentative nature might draw him away from his decision. 

Sadly, it seemed to do quite the opposite as Beckett moved to his feet once more and swiftly approached Isabella, “That’s what I just  _ said _ ,” He agreed, getting so close to her that his icy breath was caressing her face, “But it’s the best you’ll get, and if you accept, your freedom will come with,” He confessed, taking a step back once he was done trying to intimidate her. 

“Why ask me then?” She continued to pester, not knowing what else to do since she surely couldn’t accept his proposal. 

Beckett’s eyes ran up and down her once more before landing on her face, “Married to the Governor’s daughter fits rather well with the title of Lord, don’t you think?” He asked, cryptically, clearly not wanting to give away his true reason for doing anything, though she figured this was as close to the truth as she was going to get. 

She couldn’t help but to think that he was up to something more sinister than he was letting on though and she was prepared to find out, even if it meant pushing useless questions first, “Understandably,” She agreed with a small nod, “What’s in it for me then? You claim I’ll be free, but I have a feeling that marriage to you is not quite the same,” She tilted her head to the side, hoping he would step up to her teasing and become even the slightest bit more comfortable so she’d be able to weasel something out of him. 

“As I said before, you need to find your new place in the world, where better than the East India Trading Company?” He asked, holding his arms out in a grand gesture. 

For some reason she couldn’t quite believe what he was offering would be beneficial to her in any way, at the moment, she’d rather just rot in jail, but if there were a chance for her to escape, then that would be a different story, “I want to help Will find Jack,” She said without hesitation. 

She knew that Will would stand a much better chance with her help, Jack wasn’t the biggest fan of Will, but she was sure she could get him to hand over his compass for long enough that he wouldn’t know it was gone before the two of them could make their getaway back to Beckett, or Will could, if it would get her the freedom she desired. 

“What?” Beckett asked, confusion clear on his face at her decision. 

She nodded, affirming the statement she’d just made, “Jack likes me more than Will, he’ll be more than willing to let me use his compass, he had plenty of times in the past,” She quickly explained, hoping Lord Beckett would continue to let her speak, “I’ll go on this quest with Will, find Jack’s compass and return it to you, earning Will and Elizabeth’s freedom, which is something I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do but myself, and mine after I return as well,” She ended her idea with less conviction than she would’ve liked but she was pretty sure the man hadn’t caught onto what she was implying. 

“And you’ll do all of this to assure your friend’s safety?” He demanded, “What about Jack’s employment?” He asked, noticing how she’d sneakily left out that she wouldn’t even try to bring back Jack. 

She knew that she had to bargain for Jack’s freedom somehow, but she had nothing to give or trade that was valuable enough to him, she didn’t know what to do, “I’ll bring back more than just the compass, between Will and myself, we can carry a good amount of gold-” She tried to bargain, but she was quickly cut off by Beckett when he began to talk over her. 

“It’s not gold I want,” He said, calmly, “I will agree to Jack Sparrow’s freedom at the expense of the loss of your, along with your hand in marriage,” He said, his lips twisting up into a filthy grin. 

Isabella couldn’t help but gulp, she knew that it had to be coming but it was the last thing she wanted to hear from him, she would’ve rather proposed the idea herself, but now it was too late, and she had to accept, knowing if she went back on her word there would be warrants out for both her and Jack’s arrest, something she’d rather not real with at the moment, “Fine,” She decided, her mind running through all the ways she could remove herself from this crazy agreement, but there really was nothing she could do, “I agree,” The decision was pretty easy to make which was very hard for her to come to terms with, clearly she really wanted to protect this man she’d known for a few weeks a year ago, but she had no clue why! 

Beckett seemed pleased with her decision, “And just to make sure you don’t decide to run off and refuse to return to Port Royal, your sister will not be released until you return, is that clear?” He finished bargaining, knowing that there was no way Isabella would be able to refuse if her sister’s life was on the line. 

Slowly she nodded, “Yes, it’s clear,” She agreed, wanting to be done with this as soon as possible, she wasn’t sure she could stand being in the same room with him much longer, so she certainly wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand marrying him, but she just needed to make sure her sister was safe, after that she could try to get out of this marriage of convenience at any time, if it were possible. 

“Good,” Beckett came up behind her and started ushering her towards the door with a light touch on her back, which she couldn’t wait to get away from, “You and Mr. Turner will be escorted to a ship in the morning, make sure you are ready, and please, try not to die,” He finished with a small smirk of superiority before he opened the door and led her out into the hallway, “I will see you in the morning,” Was all he finished their conversation with before the doors were being shut in her face. 

Isabella blinked a few times, trying to take in everything that had just happened in the last few hours, she’d gone from planning a failed wedding, to watching Will get dragged around in irons, to being arrested herself alongside her sister, to being thrown in jail only to get dragged out a few hours later to be brought to Beckett’s side, listen to him instruct Will on how to get his own freedom and finally propose a marriage of convenience to her, it was insanity. Nothing this crazy had happened in Port Royal since, well- since the Black Pearl had come in the first place, and now Will and herself were set up to go on another pirate adventure with one another, something she’d hardly expected. 

She didn’t know how she managed to find her way back to her father’s home after that, it was all a blur really, she could remember leaving Beckett’s temporary set up in a daze, but the walk home was nothing, and as soon as she arrived at her home she was being bombarded with questions from her father, but she was much too tired to answer them at the moment. Thankfully it didn’t take him long to escort her to her room and tell her to get a good night’s sleep, and that was the last thing she really remembered before she passed out, her mind only being able to focus on the fact that the next morning she was going to be thrown back into the world of pirates, a world she never thought she’d see again. 

But here she was, and she was sure this was going to be an adventure she wasn’t going to forget anytime soon. 

* * *

The morning came all too quickly for her, she felt like her night went by in the blink of an eye, she wasn’t even sure if she’d slept at all! But here she was, getting ready all by herself, slipping into the same set of trousers and old shirt that Jack had bought for her a year ago. She was sure her father, and maybe even Beckett, would be opposed to seeing her in such an outfit, but she wasn’t about to try to go on another adventure in a dress, it just wasn’t practical! 

As soon as she was dressed and her hair had been combed out, she was quick to leave her room, only to find her father standing downstairs with one of Beckett’s men, who was most likely there to escort Isabella to where her and Will were going to depart. 

“Oh, Isabella,” Her father greeted, “This gentleman is here to escort you to your ship? I didn’t know you were going somewhere?” He clearly wasn’t too pleased with her not telling him about her agreement with Beckett, clearly he had been under the impression that she was just going to stay in Port Royal while Will secured Elizabeth freedom himself. 

Once she ascended down the stairs, her father’s eyes widened at the state of her dress, but thankfully he didn’t comment on that, “Yes, I am,” She confessed, “Lord Beckett is  _ allowing _ me to go with Will to secure Elizabeth’s freedom,” She told her father, watching his reaction to see how upset with her he really was. 

He pursed his lips, but didn’t say anything to oppose her decision, which she was thankful for at least, “Well, best not keep him waiting,” He said, and she wasn’t sure if he was talking about Will or Beckett in that moment, but there was no time to ponder as she was led from her home by the guard and into a small carriage. Her father was right behind them, helping her get into the carriage and following her inside as the guard got up front, leading them to their destination. 

Once the carriage was moving she realized her father’s eyes were locked on her, “You don’t have to do this,” He insisted. 

She hadn’t expected her father to argue her decision so she wasn’t quite sure what to say to him in the moment, but she was quickly able to come up with a confused response, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” She asked for clarification. 

“You don’t have to go with Mr. Turner,” He continued, his tone very urgent, “I am going to get your sister out of here, tonight, we cannot rely on the likes of pirates to get her freedom, I already have a carriage secured and safe passage to the next town over,” He told her, very hurriedly, probably because they weren’t very far from the docks and he knew he didn’t have much time, “You can stay here, Beckett has already promised me your freedom, and I can’t risk sending you off to the likes of pirates again,” He confessed. 

Isabella shook her head, she understood what her father was saying but at the same time she wasn’t about to stop herself from going on this adventure, if he was able to free Elizabeth, then great, maybe she wouldn’t have to come back to Port Royal to marry herself off to Beckett after all, it was all set up to work out very well for her, she thought, as long as Elizabeth  _ could _ actually escape, “I’m sorry, but I have already made my decision, if your plan doesn’t work, we need to have something to secure her freedom, and I can’t risk losing that opportunity,” She told her father. 

Thankfully, he didn’t have much time to respond because the carriage came to a stop after that, most likely at the docks, and the two of them were quickly ushered out of the carriage. Isabella was quick to spot Will being led to a large boat by a few Navy soldiers, she realized then that the two of them were most likely going to be escorted some of the way by the Navy, which wasn’t the most exciting way to travel, but hopefully they’d be able to switch ships soon enough. 

Will was the first one to spot them, and from the look on his face she could tell he didn’t seem too thrilled to be traveling with the Navy either. Beckett spotted them next, his eyes fixed on the father and daughter as soon as he saw them approach the ship that they were to be boarding soon, “Good morning, Governor, Miss. Swann,” He said once they’d gotten close enough to hear him. 

Her father nodded and shook his hand, clearly trying to play up the pleasantries while Elizabeth was still locked up, “Good morning, Lord Beckett,” He responded, while Isabella stood silently at his side, unable to stop herself from practically glaring up at Beckett. 

He didn’t seem to be too amused by her lack of response, but he didn’t bother saying anything about it, thankfully, “Miss Swann, your vessel awaits,” He decided after a moment of silence passed between them, moving so he was next to her now as he guided her to the ship. 

She tried not to shy away from his touch, wanting to show him that she wasn’t scared of him, and thankfully it didn’t take him that long to lead her to where Will was standing, watching as the crew prepared the boat for the two of them, “Where are we going to be taken?” She asked, hoping Will would know the answer and she wouldn’t have to listen to Beckett talk any longer than she already had to endure. 

“The nearest trading port, we’ll be able to catch a ride from there,” Will explained, much to her pleasure. 

She nodded in agreement, watching as the rest of the crew worked on the ship, “What are we waiting for them?” She said, deciding she wanted to get out of Port Royal as soon as possible, the quicker they could get out of there, the sooner they would be able to save Elizabeth, and hopefully herself from her unknown future. 

Will nodded in agreement, but his eyes flickered to Beckett, he most likely knew that the man would have something to say before they left, and he wasted no time in jumping on his opportunity to speak, “Mr. Turner, I’m sure I won’t have to remind you of our deal and the ramifications that will come if you fail me,” He warned, his dark eyes focused on the man standing next to her. 

Of course Will was forced to agree, knowing Elizabeth’s life was on the line, but clearly he hadn’t been informed of Isabella’s side of the bargain with Beckett, which she’d rather keep quiet until they were on their way back to free her sister, “You don’t,” Will assured him in response. 

Beckett nodded, pleased with Will’s compliance, “Right, I won’t take up any more of your precious time Mr. Turner, I suggest you get your ship moving,” He instructed, gesturing for Will to board the ship. 

Isabella would’ve followed Will if it weren’t for the fact her father was standing slightly behind them, and she knew she would have to say goodbye to him, after all, if he did manage to free Elizabeth then she had no plans to return on her own free will. She was quick to turn on her heel to run back to her father, giving him a brief hug, wanting to get a few words in with him before she was forced to leave Port Royal. 

“Best of luck,” Her father said, sounding unsure about letting her leave, “I hope we will hear from you soon, I would only worry the longer you are away,” He confessed. 

She smiled, hoping to reassure him even though she couldn’t be sure of when she would come back, “I’ll try to be hasty, and you keep Elizabeth safe, tell her I’m sorry I couldn’t say goodbye and I’ll- I’ll see her soon,” Isabella managed to get out. 

“Yes of course,” He agreed, giving her one more smile before sending her on her way, “I believe that you are being called for,” He said, his eyes fixed over her shoulder. 

Isabella dreaded turning around to see who would’ve been calling for her, and she wasn’t surprised to see that it was Beckett motioning for her to come over to him. She felt horrible having to follow his orders, but here she was, saying her final goodbye to her father before he lifted her chin and walked over towards Beckett who was standing tall with his hands clasped behind his back. 

“It’s time for your ship to set sail,” He told her once she reached his side, “I’m sure, like Mr. Turner, that I don’t need to remind you of  _ our _ bargain,” He wasn’t even facing her as he spoke, and she found it entirely degrading, she just wanted to escape this island for the mean time and not have to worry about him for at least a little while. 

She gave him a tight lipped smile when he turned to face her once more, “I understand, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you soon, Lord Beckett,” She said, and without waiting for his reply, she marched forward, boarding the ship that was finally ready for departure, much to her delight. 

Isabella was more than thankful to have escaped Beckett’s gaze for the meantime, she was sure he was the most infuriating man she’d ever met in her entire life, and she’d had to deal with Jack’s antics for almost a whole month, so it really was saying something. But at least Jack had basic respect for her, even if he had been quite handsy with her, from what she could remember of him anyways, Beckett on the other hand, seemed to not care for her or anyone around him in the slightest. 

Once she had boarded the ship, the anchor was raised and the plank for boarding was pulled on deck too. Even though she tried to ask what she could do to help, every time she did, she was laughed at, to which she could only respond with a scowl. Will was nowhere to be found either, he was clearly being put to work and she wished she could’ve been in the same position as him instead of stuck standing on deck with nothing at all to do. 

She decided to stay above deck for now, she knew that the nearest trading port couldn’t be too far from Port Royal and hopefully they wouldn’t be stuck with the Navy for too long, she quickly realized she’d much rather be with Jack’s crew than here, at least they gave her things to do and didn’t just tell her to sit down and look pretty. 

Not wanting to go below deck and finally getting a chance to feel the Caribbean sun on her skin again, she didn’t get the chance to see Will until he had come back above deck several hours later. He was quick to join her, apparently not too happy he was being put to work, but of course he was going to do whatever they told him. 

“You’ve been busy,” She commented once Will had managed to escape his post for a moment, “I haven’t seen you since you boarded.”    


He nodded, wiping some sweat from his forehead, which was one thing she didn’t miss about being on a ship, it got very warm, very quickly, “Not willingly,” He sighed, “But I’ve been told we’ll be dropped off before sunrise, which is very promising, gives us enough time to secure passage before the morning,” He told her. 

She nodded, happy to hear that they’d be able to get off this ship relatively soon, “That’s good news, I was thinking we should try to get to Tortuga, maybe someone there will have seen him, from what I could tell he’s got quite the reputation there, I’m sure a visit from him wouldn’t go unnoticed,” She explained, hoping that Will would agree with her logic. 

Thankfully her friend was smart enough to know her plan was a good one, “Alright, that’s what we’ll do as soon as we’re off tonight, see if anyone’s going to Tortuga,” He agreed, much to Isabella’s delight, but then he paused, looking thoughtful, “What did Beckett say to you after I had gone?” He pressed, curiously. 

Isabella couldn’t help but frown, she didn’t want to tell anyone about the arrangement he’d proposed to her until it was too late to stop it, if it came to that, the only other person who had to know something was going on was her father, but at least when the two of them were speaking he had the decency to not bring it up to her. But she had no clue what to tell Will, honestly she hadn’t expected him to ask that, she thought he would assume she was apart of his deal with Beckett, so she decided to play off that for the time being, “I- He just wanted to make sure we were on the same page, that to get our freedom we need his compass,” She confessed to Will, feeling a little bit bad about lying to him but at the same time she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. 

He seemed pleased with the answer for now, and she planned to keep it that way until they were back in Port Royal, but she couldn’t be sure he wouldn’t ask more questions about it in the future, and she had to be prepared for that. 

After her conversation with Will, he was dragged back below deck to most likely be put to work again, and she was left alone once more. Sadly, she didn’t have much to do for the rest of the trip, she just got to walk around the upper deck of the ship and watch the waters that they were flying over, which was something she rather enjoyed but after several hours of it with no one speaking to you, it got a little boring. 

The first time she felt excited was when she spotted the trading port on the horizon and knew that her and Will would be freed from this ship soon enough. When they had gotten closer to the port, her and Will were ushered into a small boat with another Navy man who quickly rowed them to shore before he took his boat back, leaving the two of them alone for the first time in a long time! 

Will wasted no time in finding a small crew that was heading to Tortuga to see what luck they could have on the small island and he was able to barter passage for the two of them using a few coins that Beckett had clearly given to him for this purpose. The crew wasn’t too pleased to have a woman on board at first, but because the trip to Tortuga wouldn’t take too long they decided to risk it and ‘tempt fate’ as the Captain so delicately put it. 

She thought that the next time they tried to make passage with pirates maybe she should pull her hair up into her hat, hide her more feminine traits to make it that much easier for her and Will to get where they needed to go. 

But at least for now they were on the right track, and the sooner the could find Jack, the sooner they could free Elizabeth, which was all Isabella could let herself care about at the moment. 

She just hoped that finding Jack wouldn’t be all that hard. 

* * *

Their night went by quickly, which Isabella was very happy about, she wanted to get on with this search as quickly as possible, and right at daybreak the crew was ready to go, wanting to get to Tortuga as quickly as her and Will did. 

Once the ship had set sail, she expected to sit around like she had done on the Navy ship, but she figured there was no harm in asking if there was anything she could do to help, and only after some brief hesitation from the crew, she was led over towards the ship’s hull where there was a man navigating their course to Tortuga, and he was swiftly instructed to teach her how to navigate. It was different than using Jack’s compass that seemed to know exactly where they wanted to go, so it was interesting to learn how to use an actual compass when it came to navigating the ship, and she thought that she was pretty good at it, if she did say so herself. 

Dealing with a normal compass made her think about Jack’s that much more, she knew there was something special about it, but she had no clue what it was since he’d refused to tell her what it’s exact use was. She only wished she could know what it did though, maybe then she’d know why Beckett wanted it so badly. 

It had to be something special for Jack to keep it so close to him at all times. From what she could remember, Jack had told her that it didn’t lead towards Tortuga, or the Isla De Muerta, but nothing else made sense! He’d let her use the compass when she wanted to find her sister, and from what she could remember he had told her to find her sister she needed to get to the Isla De Muerta, and the compass just led them there. She had the feeling she was so close to figuring out what the compass led to but at the same time there was nothing that really explain what the compass led to, it  _ seemed _ like the compass took her to what she wanted most at that moment, but she couldn’t quite explain it. 

But at least having something to do this time around made the trip go by that much faster, and frankly, it reminded her a lot of her time with Jack’s crew. 

It was almost sad for her when she and Will had to depart from the crew, but she quickly got over it, knowing that the most important thing at the moment was finding Jack to save her sister. Once the two of them arrived in Tortuga, they immediately set out asking about Jack, and were met with a plethora of answers that she wasn’t sure if she could so easily believe. From Singapore to Tortuga to him being dead, she wasn’t quite sure what to believe and her and Will found themselves at a stand still, not quite knowing where to go from there. 

The most amusing part of the whole ordeal was when the two of them ran into one of the women that they had seen with Jack last time they were in Tortuga and at the mention of his name she gave Will a swift slap across the cheek, just like she’d done to Jack a year ago. 

It wasn’t until after the slap that the two of them finally got some useful information, from a man who had apparently overheard their conversation with the woman about Jack, and for some reason, she felt like they could actually trust this man for once. 

“Jack Sparrow?” A voice called out from behind them after Will had just suffered from a harsh slap across the face. 

She spun around to see a man sitting on a crate, he was fiddling with something in his hands and didn’t look too interested in the conversation, but at least he was the one who brought up Jack, and hopefully he’d know something about the Pirate’s disappearance, “Yes,” She agreed, “Do you know where he is?” She pressed, wanting to get out of Tortuga if they finally had a lead on him. 

The man nodded, looking up at them for the first time, “Can’t say about Jack Sparrow, but this island just south of the south where I trade spices for… delicious, long pork,” He commented, unhelpfully, “Cannot say about Jack Sparrow, but you’ll find a ship there, a ship with black sails,” The man seemed very nonchalant about the whole thing, but Isabella didn’t know any other ship with black sails, it had to be Jack, there was no other explanation. 

“Can you take us there?” She asked before Will could interject. 

The man nodded, getting to his feet, “You’re in luck, we’re heading out soon, we can drop you off, but we will not stick around,” The man warned them, causing Isabella’s heart to lurch at the thought of being abandoned again, but they had to try, they’d see the ship and know then if it was what they were looking for. 

Of course the two of them decided to go with the man, if they didn’t see the Black Pearl then they would just continue on their journey with their new crew until they returned to anywhere of import, but for some reason she knew that they were going to find something here that could help them, if not Jack, she had a feeling the Black Pearl was definitely going to be there. 

They paid there was onboard with offers to help set sail, and this time Isabella’s help was welcomed without dispute, much to her surprise. The only small problem was that most of the crew spoke french, and although she knew a few phrases in the foreign language it wasn’t enough for her to communicate too well with the crew, so for most of the trip, her and Will spent their time being dragged around and told what to do by the few people that could speak english. 

This trip took them through the night, which had been their first overnight onboard in a while, and it wasn’t the most comfortable, but at least the Captain had been nice enough to give her a solitary space for her to sleep in for the night where she wouldn’t have to bunk with other men. She was very grateful for the crew they were travelling with this time, at least she and Will were both respected, and in the morning they should be arriving at the island where the Black Pearl had been spotted! 

Morning came very quickly and soon enough Isabella and Will were being prepared to head to shore, “Will, look,” Isabella was quick to spot the island as soon as it was on the horizon, and from what she could tell, there was a large boat docked there, one with huge, unmistakable black sails. 

“We found it,” He breathed, almost like he wasn’t able to believe what he was seeing. 

When they got closer to the island, the Captain ordered their boat to be prepared for them, “My brother will take you to shore,” He told the two of them once they were ready to be lowered into the boat. 

Will was quick to scamper down into the boat, leaving Isabella to say her goodbyes, “Thank you, Captain, we appreciate your help,” She said before following after Will and letting the man row them to shore.

The trip was pretty silent, she wasn’t sure what to expect from the island they were going to, but she had a pretty good feeling nothing good was going to come from it. Her nerves started to get the better of her the closer they got to shore and eventually she could see that the ship seemed to be entirely abandoned. 

Just when she realized that there was no one near the Black Pearl, the man stopped rowing their boat, “What’s wrong,” Will asked, “The beach is right there!” 

The man replied in french and Isabella was at least able to recognize a few words, mainly ‘dangerous,’ so she figured they weren’t going to get much more help from the man. 

“We’re going to have to swim,” She told Will once she’d seen his confused expression. 

Thankfully, Will was pretty on board with jumping and he dove into the water without further notice, Isabella quickly following him as the two of them swam to shore. 

The beach was eerily silent once the two of them arrived, and she was quick to call out, hoping someone would hear her, “Jack!” She called out, wanting to be done with the silence that surrounded them. 

Will was doing the same thing, calling out members of the crew before the two of them realized that it was very unlikely anyone was near the beach at that point and they were most likely alone. 

“Let’s check out the jungle,” She decided, giving one last look around the beach before her eyes were locked on the thick foliage in front of them. 

He nodded in agreement, starting off towards the jungle and diving right in. Strangely, there seemed to be several paths in the dense forest where it looked like people had stomped over the ground more than enough times to make some trails, but she couldn’t be so sure that it was the crew they were looking for that had made these paths. 

While she was observing the trampled over ground, Will was quick to spot something a bit higher in the trees, “Ah, a familiar friend,” She could practically hear the smile in his voice and she looked up too to see him staring at Cotton’s brightly colored parrot. 

“Don’t eat me!” The parrot squawked before he fluttered away, not helping them out too much. 

She watched as the parrot flew away, heading towards the beach that the two of them had just left, and she wasn’t too excited to find the crew after that strange interaction with the bird. She just had a bad feeling about this whole thing. 

“Look at this,” Will called out to her from where he wandered a little further along the path. 

He was holding Gibbs’ canteen he always seemed to have on him, his canteen was like Jack’s compass, she’d never seen him without it, “What’s it attached to?” She asked, pulling the canteen free from it’s restraint and tucking it into her pocket, she’d want to return it to him when they found the crew, and she felt like if she left it there he’d never see it again. 

Will started to follow the string further into the jungle, leaving her to trail after him, but her heart was racing, she had a bad feeling about what the two of them were walking into. Will reached the end of the rope at the same time that Isabella heard a twig snap from somewhere behind her. 

Everything that happened next seemed to go in slow motion. She heard a shout, and suddenly Will was suspended in mid air, his sword held out as he swung it around like a mad man trying to free himself. Before she even had a chance to move to help him, she felt something sink into the back of her neck, and the next thing she knew, her eyes were falling shut, and the last thing she saw was darkness. 


	9. Chapter 9

When she woke up the first thing she realized was that she was suspended almost upside down, her hands and feet tied to something that was suspending her above the ground. Her eyes cracked open to find herself in the only position she could’ve imagined herself in, but she had no clue why or how she’d gotten in this strange position. She was shocked to see that she was surrounded by men in strange tribal wear that she couldn’t recognize from anything she’d ever seen before, and with a quick look to the left she could see Will suspended in the same was she was. 

At that point, while her vision was still hazy, she heard some shouting around her, and before she knew what was happening, something was being jammed into her neck and her eyes were rolling into the back of her head once more, leaving these strange men to drag her and Will along even further into the jungle that surrounded them. 

The next time she woke up, she could tell she was still suspended, but she was being held still at the moment, not being carried any further along, and this time she knew that she would have to try and wake herself up faster, so she could at least try to be diligent in this strange situation that the two of them had found themselves in. 

She could hear Will talking but she couldn’t quite make out what he was saying yet, her head felt too heavy for her to focus on anything else at the moment, that is, until she felt someone prodding at her. Her eyes snapped open wide at that, and she tilted her head at an uncomfortable angle so she could see who was poking at her. The motion caused her hat to come flying off her head, which had miraculously stayed on the entire time she’d been carted along like this, and caused her red hair to come tumbling down around her face. But once she got a good look at the figure standing near her, she nearly found herself at a loss for words! 

Standing in front of her and Will was the  _ last  _ person she’d expected to see in this situation, but to be fair, with the oddness of it all, it almost made sense that Jack had something to do with it. She wasn’t sure what to say in the slightest, she’d been working all this time to try and find him and here he was, it almost felt too easy, and of course her and Will were both still tied up. Speaking of Will, she could briefly hear him talking, trying to get Jack’s attention, but it wasn’t doing him any good, Jack wasn’t sparing him a single glance. 

She knew she had to say something, but when she tried to talk, she was only able to say one single word, “Jack?” She managed to get out, her throat feeling dry and her eyes still not quite believing what she was seeing. 

He was quick to straighten up as soon as his name came out of her mouth, and for a brief moment she could’ve sworn a look of concern flashed across his face, but he quickly masked it, before he turned to the people surrounding them and spouting off a few quick words in a foreign language. She didn’t know why he wasn’t saying anything to them, and if her mind was in the right place she would’ve tried getting him to talk again. The tribe around him was quick to agree with him, and before she knew what was happening, Will was being dragged away, shouting out to her and Jack to do something, while her feet and hands were quickly unbound. She watched as Jack seemed to lean down by Will briefly before he turned to face her, watching as she was unbound. 

Just as she was freed from the ropes that had tied her to the wooden pole, Jack was by her side, his arm slid quickly around her waist before he led her towards the strange setup in the little clearing where a small chair sat under an awning. 

“What is going on?” She asked, her head still feeling very heavy from whatever had knocked her out earlier, but she’d gotten her first good look at the man now, and for the most part he looked exactly the same, minus the strange face paint he had going on, but it was still very much Jack. 

Jack shushed her quickly, wasting no time in sitting down on his strange throne and pulling her swiftly down onto his lap. He didn’t have a chance to explain before she let out a small yelp, trying to pull away from the man she was sitting on, but he was quick to give her a sharp tug so she was stilled once more, finally giving him the chance to shush her, “Didn’t think we’d be meeting like this, luv,” He whispered in her ear, and she felt a shiver run down her spine. 

She shifted so that she could see him better, not liking how strangely comfortable she was, “What-?” She began to ask again, not wanting to mess around when she had no clue where she was or what Jack was doing. 

Before he had the chance to answer something was being set on a tray in front of the two of them, it looked like multicolored paste, leaving her even more confused, and once the two of them were alone once more she was looking over her shoulder expectantly at Jack. He shifted her once more so his left arm was wrapped around her and his right hand could reach forward to paw at the paste in front of them. She watched curiously as Jack took some of the green paste onto one of his fingers and before she could stop him he was smearing the paste right down her nose, just like he had. 

Before he could finish dragging his finger down her nose she had pushed him away, her eyes wide as she practically spun around to face him, “What are you doing?” She demanded, her voice rising ever so slightly now due to her pounding heart. 

His fingers dug into her side at her outburst, causing her to still against him once more, “I’ll explain when I can, dearest, but if ye want to stay alive, I suggest you  _ trust _ me,” He said quietly, murmuring in her ear in a harsh whisper. 

She really was too curious for her own good, even after he’d warned her to stay quiet she wanted to do just the opposite, but he had asked for her trust, and she didn’t want to betray his so soon when she was due to steal from him later, she had to deal with one problem at a time and for now she figured compliance was the best way to go. While the two of them sat in silence, Jack continued to decorate her face with the strange paste in front of them, she could only guess she would end up looking somewhat like him, but she had no clue why this was necessary. Once he had finished, the paint was taken away from them and the tribe around them had dispersed from the area for the most part, looking like they all had jobs to do. 

“Now can you tell me what’s going on?” She repeated, hoping now that there were less people around them he’d be able to talk a little bit more freely. 

Her head had cleared up a little bit more by this point and she was glad to be able to think clearly now. She was very happy that they had managed to find Jack, but to be honest, this was not exactly how she’d imagined the strange reunion between the two of them, now that they were in this strange situation she supposed it was almost fitting since it had involved Jack. 

He was silent for a few moments, and she looked over her shoulder to see him looking around the area, most likely to make sure that the two of them wouldn’t be overheard, or she hoped he was getting ready to tell her  _ what _ exactly was going on! 

When he refused to answer her, she couldn’t help but to get even more anxious about the whole thing. If it was  _ so  _ serious that he couldn’t even tell her what was going on, she didn’t know what to do! Maybe her best hope was sneaking out of here to try and find Will or the rest of the crew, maybe someone else would be able to tell her what was going on and then they could get off this strange island! 

“Fine, if you won’t tell me, I’ll figure out what’s going on myself,” She said, knowing that in retrospect she shouldn’t have announced to him that she was going to leave because just as she moved to scoot off of him his arms came around her once more and pulled her backwards, almost knocking the wind out of her with his tight grip around her. 

She let out a huff of air, managing to stop herself from coughing somehow as Jack quickly stopped her from slipping away, “Ye don’t want to do that,” He warned, his breath hitting the back of her neck. 

Isabella groaned, she was getting nowhere, and all she wanted was to know what was going on right now so she could get his compass and free her sister, “Then tell me why!” She hissed back, tensing slightly when the face painted tribe started to gather around them once more. 

His voice lowered even more if possible and she shivered at the feeling of his mouth against her ear, her eyes unable to tear themselves away from the strange group of people who had started to build a fire in front of the two of them, “If ye keep trying to run away, you’ll just get  _ eaten _ sooner,” He warned her, whispering in her ear almost in a way that sounded teasing if it weren’t how her stomach dropped at the upsetting implications of his words. 

“Eaten?” She breathed just as the tribe around them started to pile the wood up into a large pile. 

Around them, some members of the tribe started to drum, startling her even more since Jack refused to speak again, which she would’ve enjoyed in any other situation. She understood why he wasn’t speaking when one of the tribe members walked up to where the two of them were sitting and turned to Jack, slipping a strange necklace around his neck before walking away. 

She turned around to see what they’d put on Jack and instantly she’d felt bile rise up in her throat, “Oh my god,” She hissed, “Are those-?” 

Jack nodded, unwinding one arm from around her and picking up the necklace to observe it before letting it fall back down against his chest, “Toes,” He agreed, wrinkling his nose, but not making any move to remove it from himself. 

Now more than ever she wanted to be as far away from him as possible, but the thought of getting eaten made her stay still against Jack’s warm body, she hoped that he was just as nervous as she was, and was just better at hiding it, but she couldn’t be very sure of anything about this man. 

Just then the tribe stopped piling wood up around their pire and some of them were looking at Jack expectantly. In an instant she was on her feet standing slightly behind Jack as he walked up to the tribe, examining the fire, “No,” He decided, speaking very loudly, “No, no! More wood, Big Fire! Big Fire, I am chief, I want big fire! Come on then,” He spun around on his heel to face the two men that had been practically flanking his throne, “Oi,” He shouted, continuing on in the strange language before the two men jumped into action and started to help with the fire. 

Before she even knew what was going on, Jack had turned back to face her, latched onto her arm and started sprinting off in the opposite direction. She was tugged along behind him, running over a rickety bridge, and through dense forest, past a couple of huts before she was running straight into his back, groaning on the impact of their collision. 

“What is it?” She asked once she recovered, peering over his shoulder to see that he’d nearly run them off a cliff, one where she couldn’t even see the bottom! 

His head darted around, and the next thing she knew Jack was pushing her away from the edge and quickly leading her back to one of the small huts that they’d just passed in a hurry, swiftly pulling her inside before he finally let her go and started rummaging around the area, looking for anything that might help them get out of there. 

Jack finally straightened up, a long rope in his hands and a silver can, “How are these going to help?” She demanded after getting a good look at what he was holding. 

After he’d finished looking back and forth between the two items in his hand he looked up to Isabella, “Just the rope- We should hurry,” He said, wrinkling his nose before tossing her the can of paprika and finally leaving the small cabin. 

She was quick to follow him, pushing past the beads that worked as a door for the small hut and finding herself barreling into Jack’s back once more, “What-” She began again, only momentarily realizing that she’d asked basically the same question at least five times in the last ten minutes with Jack, but she didn’t get the chance to finish her question when she realized that the two of them had once again been surrounded by the tribe who didn’t look too pleased. 

Jack was grinning sheepishly, shifting slightly in what she could only guess was nerves, “Oh bugger,” He muttered. 

Isabella passed Jack the can of paprika, her heart pounding as she pulled the cap off and sprinkled some of it on Jack, “Seasoning?” She mumbled as soon as Jack grabbed the can from her. 

He nodded in agreement, emptying more of the can on himself, “A little seasoning, aye?” He asked, louder than Isabella before turning to her and sprinkling some of it on her shoulders. 

She wrinkled her nose in disdain, but managed to stop herself from trying to clear the paprika off of her shoulders as her and Jack were ushered back to where the fire had been built, “What are we going to do?” She hissed to him, her eyes widening when she saw that the fire had been built even larger and it looked like there was nothing else that could be done before they were served as the main course. 

Jack shrugged, glancing down at her, “Improvise,” he suggested, before he froze in place, standing right in front of the pire, “Don’t struggle,” He warned her.  

Isabella was about to suggest that the two of them make a run for it, or ask what he meant by telling her not to struggle, but before she had a chance to, Jack and her were both grabbed by the tribe. As soon as she felt her hands being tied behind her back she wanted to struggle, but she knew this had to be what Jack had been talking about, and the least she could do was listen to him this time, even though he’d always gotten her into trouble he always seemed to have a way to get them out of trouble, too. 

Her hands were tied tightly behind her back, securing her to a pole that was sticking out of the ground near the fire, her feet were tied up tightly too, leaving her to struggle silently against the restraints once the focus was back on Jack who had been tied up like she and Will had been earlier, leaving it so he was hanging above the pile of wood. 

Just as he was hung above the pile of wood, several more twigs were added to the pile as well, it would’ve been funny if it weren’t for the fact that they were going to be eater, “Good work,” Jack muttered, turning his gaze to her for a moment before looking down at the wood below him again. 

The drumming had started up again, and soon enough one of the cannibals had a flaming torch and was holding it up to Jack, looking like he was very ready to set him on fire. She was holding her breath, there wasn’t much room to improvise now that the two of them were both tied up, her only hope was to try to get the rope around her hands loose and wait for the opportune moment… 

Thankfully she didn’t have to wait long, the cannibal looked like he was just about to lower the torch to the fire when another tribal member came running towards them from out of nowhere, shouting something that she could only hope to understand. The drumming stopped after that and all eyes were on Jack once more, who clearly had some reign over these strange people, “Well, go on then, go get them!” He decided, “Hellalla!” 

The tribe agreed with him, all repeating his strange chant before they ran off towards where the first member had come from, but through all of the commotion, the torch still ablaze fell to the floor, rolling much too close for comfort to the wood underneath where Jack was still tied up. 

“No, not good, not good,” Jack started calling out for any of his tribe members, but they were all too focused on whatever task he’d just given him to put out the fire, and soon enough it was just the two of them, “Oi,” He called, turning towards Isabella, “Fire!” 

She wanted to roll her eyes, did he think she was stupid, of course she noticed the fire that was threatening to start underneath him as he began to blow at the flames, as if that would stop them, “I’m a little tied up!” She argued, not being able to stop herself and finally feeling like she could be angry at him again for leading them to this stupid island of cannibals. 

Jack was desperately blowing at the flames now which were only spreading, and she was working at her hands, trying to wriggle them out so she could try to help Jack, “Here, got it,” She said, grunting as she managed to pull both of her hands free, quickly untying her feet so she could get up and help Jack out of his current predicament. 

“Put it out,” He practically ordered, as the flames got close to the tips of his hair. 

She was trying to think quickly, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to put out the fire at its current size, “Uh, okay, brace yourself, this might hurt,” She said, only having a second to feel sorry for what she might do before she backed up and decided to run straight at Jack, throwing herself over the fire and straight into his body, causing the two poles on either side of him holding him above the fire to break as the two of them fell to the ground, hard. 

Jack let out a cough, the wind clearly being knocked out of him as Isabella got it easy, landing on top of him, but still needing a moment to recover. She groaned, rolling off of him and onto her back so the two of them were laying next to each other, and she was sure she would’ve sat there for a moment longer if it weren’t for her accidentally putting her hand straight into the flames that were still roaring right next to them. 

Letting out a strangled shout, she pulled her hand back to her side. She could feel tears prickling at the corner of her eyes but she pushed them back, a burnt hand was something she could deal with later if she was still alive, cannibals were something she had to deal with  _ now _ . 

She rolled back over on her side, pushing herself up to a sitting position and watching as Jack tried to push himself up despite being still bound to the pole, “Here, let me,” She said quickly, hoping that she’d be able to get the ropes off before the cannibals came back. 

It wouldn’t have been that hard to pull the ropes off of him if it weren’t for her burnt hand, but she did her best and as quickly as possible, he was freed from his ropes and up on his feet, “Took yer time with those, luv,” He said, kicking at the discarded rope. 

Isabella frowned as she got to her feet, she  _ had _ to take that much time because of her stupid hand, but she wasn’t about to tell him that, they had to focus on getting out of here right now and he could make fun of her all she liked later when the two of them weren’t in a life or death situation. 

“Come on, we need to get out of here,” She decided, the burning sensation on her hand getting harder and harder to ignore, but she pushed past it, looking around and trying to decide the best was for the two of them to run. 

Immediately, Jack went to head back over the bridge that had taken the two of them to the cliff, and without thinking her burnt hand wrapped around his arm, holding him back, she hissed under her breath before she tugged him the other way, “You don’t think that’s the first place they’re going to check, come on,” She said, finally releasing him and starting off in the opposite direction, hoping that he would follow her. 

Thankfully, she could hear Jack’s rapid footsteps following her as the two of them ran through the dense forest. She knew that she’d have to be a little bit more careful now that the two of them were running in the foliage, since it was where her and Will had first been apprehended, she was sure to be on high alert, eyes sharp as they ran, “How did you even get here?” She demanded after she felt like the two of them had gotten far enough away that she could speak freely, her breath coming out in heavy pants. 

Jack had come up to her side at that point, the two of them moving through the forest in a quick jog, “I could ask ye the same thing, Izzy, yer the last person I expected to show up here,” He confessed, raising a brow in her direction. 

She frowned, she didn’t want to have to explain this stuff to him if Will wasn’t there to back her up, she’d much rather discuss this with someone else there, but here they were, “I guess it’s fate then,” She said sarcastically, finally feeling like she could really get some of her anger out since there was no longer an immediate threat. 

Her eyes narrowed when she spotted something on the ground in front of them, it looked almost like a tripwire, and she wasn’t about to make it so easy for the cannibals to find them again, she was not going to let them get eaten today. She stopped in her tracks, but Jack didn’t seem to notice what she was doing, so before she could stop herself and before he could say anything in response to her sarcastic comment, she lunged forward and threw her arms around Jack’s waist, pulling him backwards and away from the rope, hopefully sparing both of them for the meantime. 

However, Jack didn’t seem to interpret her act of heroism in the same way it was meant to be interpreted. Before she knew what he was doing, his arms had gone around her in the same way hers were around him, and the two of them were closer to each other than they ever had been before. She grimaced, attempting to push away from him, but with her arms around his waist it made it tricky to show him what she was trying to do as he began to speak, his hands running up and down her back as he gathered her to his chest, “Fate then?” He mused, his face much too close to hers, “It’s about time,” A grin stretched out across his features as Isabella doubled her efforts to get him away from her. 

“No,” She argued, finding her voice as she leant backwards, freeing one arm and pointing towards the rope on the ground, “Look!”    


Jack turned his head to see the rope along the forest floor, his grip on her finally loosening enough for her to slip away from him, “Right,” He muttered, clicking his teeth, “Well come on, no time to waste, we’ve got to get back to my ship!” He grinned, his mood barely faltering as he reached over to grab her by the shoulder and propel her in front of him again, keeping his hand on her as he forced them to continue on their way. 

“So, we’re just trying to get back to the Pearl? Without your crew or Will?” She asked, making sure to keep her eyes on the path in front of them for any more tricks. 

Jack shrugged, clearly not seeing the issue, “We’ve set sail with a crew of three before, I say if there’s only two of us it won’t be that much harder,” He decided. 

She didn’t like how that sat with her, of course she wasn’t going to leave Will, without him she didn’t know how she was going to save Elizabeth. She supposed that once her and Jack got to the Pearl she could play helpless and pretend to not know how to fix up the ship, especially since when she’d seen it, however long ago her and Will had first arrived on this cannibalistic island, the ship had been too far on the beach for the two of them to be able to do anything about it. So at least if they could get back to the Pearl in one piece then she would be able to come up with a plan to get Will and the rest of the crew safely off the island, too. 

It was very strange, making her way through the island with Jack shuffling very closely behind her, the two of them moving as quietly as they could. She didn’t think their reunion was going to be quite so threatening, but at this point she shouldn’t have been surprised, especially because Jack was involved! But despite being on an island full of cannibals set to eat the two of them, it felt like a very fitting reunion, but now walking through the forest with him, she wasn’t quite sure where to go from here. 

She didn’t know what to say to him to be honest, there wasn’t much  _ to _ say, she wanted to wait until she was with Will to try to get the compass from him, and she  _ still _ didn’t know what the bloody thing pointed to, but with Will, she knew Jack wouldn’t be able to get the both of them as flustered, so she would have to wait, but there was no way she was going to let Jack leave the island without him. 

“Do you have any clue where they took Will, and your crew?” She asked, once the silence between the two of them had stretched on for too long. 

Jack was still standing behind her so she couldn’t see his expression as the two of them continued to walk, “Aye, they were set off in little cages, don’t know what happened after that,” He confessed. 

Isabella couldn’t help but shoot her head around to look at him, “What do you mean ‘cages’?” She demanded, stopping the two of them in their tracks. 

He managed to stop himself from crashing into her when she abruptly spun around, his hands coming up to steady himself, as they hovered over her shoulders, but she stepped back before he could let them fall down on her shoulders, “No idea, I was with the cannibals!” He argued, pushing past her to continue walking now, leaving her to follow him. 

“How did your crew even end up here? No offense but this seems like the last place you would want to visit,” She mumbled the last part under her breath, not wanting to get too familiar with the man after just running into him again. 

He straightened himself out, not bothering to look back at her as he spoke over his shoulder, “The Crew wanted a vacation,” He explained, drawing out the words as he spoke, “Being the Captain I decided it would be best to give them what they wanted, lest they form a mutiny,” He grumbled. 

She wasn’t completely convinced, and she wanted some answers since it was his fault they were all stuck here to begin with, she wasted no time in getting herself right next to him again, so they were walking side by side, and made sure he was paying attention to her when she began to question him, “A vacation?” She demanded, clear disbelief in her tone, “ _ You _ wanted to give your crew a vacation? I thought a Pirate’s vacation would be sailing out on the open seas?” She demanded. 

“Oi!” Jack immediately argued, “Wouldn’t you know? Thought the pirate life wasn’t for ye.”    


Isabella scoffed, “Turning the conversation back on me isn’t going to stop me from finding out why we’re here, Jack,” She told him, managing to stop herself from rolling her eyes. 

This time, Jack stepped in front of her, nearly sending her crashing into him, only stopping herself at the last second so the two of them were standing much too close, “You don’t need to know why I’m here, I should be the one asking what you’re doing here, since it seemed like you and Mr. Turner were looking for meself,  _ and _ it didn’t escape my notice that yer sister isn’t travelling with you, I wonder why?” He mused, sounding almost upset with her, “So, I suggest we get back to the Pearl and leave, unless you insist on becoming their next meal,” He spun on his heel and continued down the path, not bothering to wait up for her. 

She ran after him immediately, her curiosity only growing at his response, clearly he didn’t want to talk about why he was here and that just made her want to know even more, “You’re going to need a crew to get the Pearl off this island,” She told him, trailing slightly behind him. 

“No I don’t,” He argued, not bothering to look back at her this time. 

“Well you can’t do it on your own, I’m not leaving without Will,” She confessed. Of course he had to know she wasn’t going to leave without her friend, but for some reason he was acting strange, she thought that he would be the same Captain Jack Sparrow she’d known all those months ago, and for the most part he seemed to be, but there was something off about him, she just wanted to figure out what it was. 

Jack spun on her again, “Well then, give my regards to the cannibals,” He told her, an almost smug grin on his face as he looked down at her. 

He took a step towards her, almost like he was egging her on, leading her to want to move away from him too, but she stood her ground, raising her chin to make herself look that much taller, “You wouldn’t leave me here,” She gambled, in all honesty, she knew that if Jack had the chance to get himself to safety he would leave in a second, but knowing he wouldn’t be able to get off the island without his crew was making her feel a little safer about her statement. 

He raised an eyebrow in response, not even hesitating as he took a step backwards and away from her, “I don’t think yer in a position to be talking like that,” He was grinning now, and she almost felt herself grinning back, having missed the strange banter between the two of them, but she quickly came too and wiped the smile off her face. 

She crossed her arms over her chest, “Oh?” She shot back, her mind not really working all that well at the moment, “Well, I’ll see you at the Pearl later, I suppose, I’m off to find  _ your _ crew,” She decided, turning away from him and heading down a different path, pushing past some shrubs and marching away from him. 

It didn’t take her long for her to realize that he was following her, his footsteps falling heavy on the brush behind her, “You don’t know where you’re going,” He goaded, following close behind her. 

Isabella rolled her eyes, not bothering to look back at him, “I’ve got to start somewhere,” She decided, hoping that whatever track she was on wouldn’t lead her right back to the cannibals. 

“Or you could just follow me back to the Pearl,” He continued. 

She whirled around on him, “Or you could help me find your crew,” She countered, hoping that her stubbornness would get through to him in the end. 

He scoffed, as he walked towards her, forcing her to match his steps backwards, forgetting about how closely she’d been watching where she stepped earlier, “No point in it, we’d only end up where we started, eaten,” Jack practically groaned, still walking closer to her, “Now let’s get to the beach,” He commanded, reaching towards her like he was going to grab her and tug her along behind him, but she surged backwards, and she would’ve gotten away from him, if it weren’t for the fact that at the last minute, she felt her ankle get caught on something just as Jack’s fingers caught her around the wrist. She must’ve tripped over a rock, and because he’d grabbed onto her wrist the two of them went flying backwards, him crashing down on top of her, the two of them landing in a pile of tangled limbs. 

Isabella groaned, pushing Jack off of her as soon as she realized what had happened, so the two of them were lying side by side on the ground. She was about to say something to Jack, tell him off for practically throwing them both on the ground, but it didn’t take her long to figure out that her foot was caught on something, and before Jack could leap back up to his feet, she tried to tug her foot loose, which was  _ definitely _ a mistake. 

Not looking at the ground turned out to be a bigger problem than expected, her foot must’ve gotten stuck on another trip wire, and when she fell backwards she must not have completely pulled the rope, because when she tried to tug her foot free, she heard a creaking noise around her and Jack. 

“What was that?” She breathed, turning her head to look at Jack, who was still a little winded. 

He didn’t answer her, so she started to move again, wanting to stand up and get moving once more so she wouldn’t have to wait around for something to happen to the two of them. This time though, she gave a sharp tug on her ankle, hoping to free it in the process, and she managed to twist it free, but she immediately wished she hadn’t when, suddenly, her and Jack were jostled closer together and flung into the air. 

Isabella yelped as she was practically flung on top of Jack, and she tried to push herself off of him as quickly as possible, but her arm only fell through the netting that had been supporting the two of them, sending her crashing back down onto his chest. 

He let out a groan, not bothering to push him off of her as he shifted against the net, “This must be fate as well?” He managed to grunt, one of his hands reaching up to trail along her back. 

She felt a shiver run through her body as she forced herself not to think about the much too intimate position the two of them were in, “Stop it,” She groaned, “We need to get out of this, quickly.”    


The longer the two of them were stuck in this position, the bigger the chance of them getting found by cannibals got, and that was the  _ last _ thing that they wanted at the moment, “Right,” He clicked his tongue, “Any bright ideas?” He asked, somehow managing to scoot himself up further in the net so that he had a better view of the forest around them. She attempted to move with him, trying to spin around so she could fling herself off of him, but his weight caused the net to concave directly where he was laying, leaving no room for her to move at all, except further up his chest. She didn’t have a chance to move anyways, because before she knew what he was doing, he’d let the hand on her back wrap itself around her waist, tugging her up his body, until her legs fell on either side of his, one of her feet falling through the net so she couldn’t even support herself, falling flat down against him. She managed to catch herself on his shoulders, to keep herself from completely falling down onto his body, and when she finally managed to get her foot back through the net, she looked up to see Jack grinning widely, “That’s the right idea, love,” He said, his other hand coming up and tugging her back down against him once she’d managed to get herself in a more comfortable position. 

She groaned when he tugged her down, not liking how butterflies erupted in her stomach at the contact between the two of them, but she didn’t have time to think about that at the moment, they needed to get out of there, quickly, “This is not an idea at all, and it never will be an idea,” She mumbled, pushing herself up once more so she wasn’t lying on his chest and they could look at each other now, “We need to get out of here, help me try to break this,” She reached up, resting her elbows on his chest so she could use her hands to see how sturdy the rope actually was. 

There really wasn’t much he could do to help her try to physically break the ropes, but he started shifting around underneath her, almost like he was uncomfortable, and she snapped her gaze down to meet his, hissing as she spoke, her fear hitting her the longer they stayed up here, “What are you doing?” She demanded, getting distracted from her task of freeing them for a moment as one of Jack’s arms slithered down, trying to get into his coat pocket. 

“Can’t reach,” He grunted, pulling his arm back up around her, “Knife in my pocket, if ye can reach it,” Jack told her, twisting slightly on his side so she had a better angle. 

Of course it had to be in his pant pocket, which was the  _ last _ place she wanted to look, but seeing as how she had no progress with manhandling the ropes to her will, so with an angry look down at Jack, who still managed to look smug at their situation, she supported herself with one arm and let the other slip into his pocket, pulling out the knife as quickly as she possibly could. 

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you lingered for a minute there, luv,” He practically sung out. 

She rolled her eyes, there really was no time for her to entertain his innuendos at the moment, and she thrust the knife at him, “Just get us out of here,” She ordered, watching as he skillfully started to cut at the net around them. Once Jack had his knife, it didn’t take long for him to cut through most of the net, even at his odd angle, and before she knew what was happening, the two of them landed in a pile of tangled limbs on the forest floor. 

She felt a stinging in her hand, her injury coming back to her in full as she struggled to not give her pain away as Jack climbed to his feet. She moved to stand up next to him, too, but before she could, the two of them heard some shouting in the distance, and Jack was quick to crouch down again, pushing her back to the ground by her shoulders, “What’s that-” Isabella began to ask, but Jack was quick to shove a hand over her mouth, immediately shutting her up. 

Isabella wasn’t very happy with his hand over her mouth, but as soon as she made way to shove him off of her, she saw the most unbelievable thing in the world. His hand slid down to her shoulder when he realized she was going to be quiet, but she wasn’t sure how she could speak at the moment with what the two of them were staring at. 

Right in front of their eyes, there was Jack’s crew, along with Will, rolling through the forest at an impressive speed inside of a giant spherical cage, being chased by the Cannibals! She shot her head around to look at Jack, who looked just as confused as she felt, and when the shouting group of Cannibals finally passed by the two of them, “What was that?” She demanded, her voice still coming out in a whisper. 

Jack had a small smile on his face, but he didn’t say anything as he shot to his feet and grabbed her by the hand, immediately pulling her up next to him and shooting off in the same direction of the cannibals and Jack’s crew. At least something substantial was  _ finally _ happening, that was the main thought on her mind as she was pulled behind Jack, and she hoped that they’d all be able to meet at The Pearl and get off the island as quickly as possible! 

She couldn’t be sure, but she thought that she heard herself laugh as she ran, and before she knew it, her and Jack were running straight onto the beach, the Pearl nowhere in sight, but it was a good start, “Which way to your ship?” She asked, once she managed to catch her breath, freeing her hand from his at the same time. 

Jack spun around, deciding which way to take them, but his decision was made for him when the Cannibals sprung out of the forest, noticing the two of them standing there and chasing after them immediately. 

“Why don’t we ask them?” He managed to say just before the two of them started running again, away from the cannibals. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the two of them to round the corner and see the Pearl in the distance, floating in the water, somehow, this had all worked out really well for them. With the Pearl in her sight, Isabella felt herself run that much faster, Jack keeping pace with her as he shouted to his crew, waving his arms at the same time. 

Isabella almost hesitated when she saw them run past a dog, wanting to take the poor creature with them, but Jack grabbed her by the arm, keeping her running away from the dog, “Good doggy!” He shouted back to the poor puppy, before the two of them ran straight into the water, trying to get closer to the Pearl, “Go, go!” Jack urged, as they stomped through the water, getting right up to the Pearl. 

He practically lifted her up the side of the ship, making her climb up the netting on the side first before he followed. She almost reached the railing before she realized Jack had faced the cannibals, shouting down to them as they watched the Pearl sail away, and she decided to hang on until he was done with his strange speech. 

“Alas, my children!” He shouted, gesturing towards them with his free arm, “This is the day you shall always remember as the day that you almost-” 

She saw it before Jack even had a chance to react, a giant wave game and crashed over his head, cutting off his words immediately. The wave only reached her legs, and she laughed at how  _ soaked _ Jack managed to get as he finished saying his own name, “Come on,” She called, finally accepting Will’s outstretched hand to help her over the railing. 

Will wrapped her up in a tight hug once she was over the railing, ignoring Jack as he clamored over after her, and she happily returned the hug, “I thought you were going to be eaten!” She exclaimed, laughing as she did so, this was just all too surreal! 

“You were left alone with  _ Jack _ , I thought you were going to be eaten,” He laughed back, the two of them not being able to stop themselves from giggling over the ridiculous situation they’d found themselves in. 

She pulled away from him, smiling up at him, “Well, at least now we can get on with saving your fiance,” She grinned, nudging him in the side, turning her attention back to Jack who was talking with Gibbs, rather loudly, she realized. 

“Let’s put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea,” Mr. Gibbs suggested, as he followed Jack around the ship. 

Jack spun around to face his first mate, and Isabella was surprised to hear his response, “Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only as so far as we keep to the shallows as much as possible,” He explained, as two pirates she was sure she’d never met before dropped his coat back over his shoulders, saluting him as they did so. 

“Now, that seems a bit contradictory, Captain,” Gibbs said, sounding hesitant to go against Jack’s orders. 

Jack pat the man on the shoulder, just as Will turned to face him too, “I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Master Gibbs. Now, where is that monkey, I want to shoot something!” Jack demanded, pulling his pistol out of his coat pocket and looking around for the monkey. 

“Jack,” Will called, stepping away from Isabella to get closer to the Captain, and she followed closely behind him, curious to see where Will was going with this. 

Jack shot up to face the two of them, frowning when he looked at Will, “Ah,” He sighed, wrinkling his nose. 

“Elizabeth is in danger,” Will said, getting straight to the point, which Isabella was happy about. 

Jack grumbled, turning away from the two of them to keep looking for the monkey, “Have you considered keeping a more watchful eye on her. Maybe just lock her up somewhere?” He suggested. 

Will was quick to follow him, and Isabella was hot on his heels, “She is locked up in prison, bound to hang for helping you!” He argued. 

Jack only shrugged, seeming unphased by this news, “There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one’s mistakes,” He explained. 

Before she even had a chance to stop Will, he had reached over and pulled a sword out of another pirate’s holster, holding it out to Jack’s neck, “I need that compass of yours, Jack. I must trade it for her freedom,” He explained, the sword not wavering. 

Jack didn’t even flinch at the sword pointed at him, his eyes briefly flickering over towards Isabella before he looked at Will again, and she could tell that he was coming up with a plan. He wasted no time in pushing the sword aside, and turning to face Mr. Gibbs, “Mr. Gibbs?” He asked, a smile playing on the corner of his lips. 

“Captain?” Gibbs replied, looking a little bit confused. 

“We have a need to travel upriver,” He told his first mate. 

Gibbs frowned, looking none too pleased with the order, “By need, do you mean a trifling need, fleeting, as in, say, a passing fancy?” He hesitated. 

Jack turned fully towards his first mate then, “No, a resolute and unyielding need,” He was fully grinning now, and he sent a brief wink towards Isabella, who looked taken aback at the action. 

Will stepped forward again before Gibbs could leave, “What we will need to do is make sail for Port Royal with all haste,” He demanded, the strange conversation between Jack and Gibbs not throwing him off task even for a moment. 

Isabella, on the other hand, was happy to let Will do all the talking, she had just dealt with Jack for long enough and Will had a much stronger resolve at the moment, so she just followed after the two men as they bickered. 

Jack lifted a finger to Will, “William, I shall trade you the compass, if you both will help me… to find this,” He grinned as he pulled out a small cloth from his pocket. 

Will grabbed the cloth from him so they both could get a good look at what he was trying to show them, she didn’t know what she expected from Jack, but she didn’t expect to find a drawing of a simple key on the cloth, “You want us to find this?” Will asked, holding up the cloth between the two of them. 

Jack was shaking his head as soon as the words were out of Will’s mouth, “No, you want you to find this. Because the finding on this, finds you incapacitorially finding and/or locating in your discovering the detecting of a way to save your dolly belle ol’ what’s her face, savvy?” He grinned, waving his hands as he spoke.  

Isabella was quick to narrow her eyes at the man, she didn’t appreciate how quickly he was trying to get them to agree to this, but it might be better to go along with what he’s asking them to do, if he was happy, it would be much easier for the two of them to get his compass,  _ and  _ for her to hopefully get free passage to someplace Beckett couldn’t find her after all this is done. 

“This is going to save my sister?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at Jack. 

His gaze turned to her, and before she knew what was happening, he’d pushed past Will to stalk closer to her, “How much do you know about Davy Jones?” He asked, getting closer to her than she would’ve liked. 

She wrinkled her nose up at him, wanting to stand her ground and not back away from him like every instinct she had was telling her to do, “I may have heard a story or two,” She confessed, watching closely as he raised an eyebrow in response, “I don’t think Will does though,” She turned away from Jack to look up at Will, “Do you?” 

He shook his head, looking between the two of them, his brow furrowed, “No,” He answered. 

Jack grinned, clasping his hand down on Isabella’s shoulder, “Yeah, it’s going to save Elizabeth,” He answered almost immediately, clearly knowing something the two of them didn’t, and she was going to find out what it was sooner rather than later. With a quick squeeze of her shoulder, he straightened up, and turned to Mr. Gibbs again, “Mr. Gibbs, we were headed upstream,” He ordered, immediately getting back to work. 

Even though earlier, after their narrow escape from the Cannibals, the  _ last _ thing she wanted to do was to spend more time with Jack than was necessary, but now she wanted nothing more than to find out what he was thinking at the moment, and thankfully, Jack gave her the perfect opportunity to do that. 

“Mr. Turner, if you’ll join Mr. Gibbs at the helm, I’m sure we can use a good strong- erm- a good pair of hands,” He said, practically patting Will on the back as he sent him on his way behind Gibbs. 

Isabella couldn’t help but smirk, “What about me, Captain?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Jack spun around to face her again, holding out a hand to her, “Euhhh, you can-” She didn’t even let him finish, cutting in with her own question before he had the chance to continue with his pointless task he was bound to give her. 

“What does Davy Jones have to do with anything?” She asked. 

He looked down at her, thoughtfully, his silence spreading on for a bit too long before he decided to answer her, “He’s got nothing to do with  _ you _ , so I don’t think there’s any reason I need to discuss the likes of Davy Jones at the moment, s’bad luck,” He explained, turning away from her and marching towards what looked like the Captain’s Cabin. 

She wasn’t prepared to give up so easily, so she was quick to follow after him, too curious for her own good, “Well you’re going to have to tell us eventually, might as well get it over with,” She demanded, hoping he’d give into her sooner rather than later. 

Jack continued on his way, not bothering to look back at her, “You’re going to find out about it eventually, might as well wait to hear about it,” He countered quickly. 

With a roll of her eyes, she swiftly stepped in front of him, blocking him from walking any further at the moment, and forcing him to look down at her, “What if I want to know now? Clearly you want something from him, or else you wouldn’t have asked Will and I to get that key- oh! That’s what you want, that’s Davy Jones’ key, isn’t it?” She deduced, getting more excited about learning his intentions. 

His nose twitched slightly, and he took a step forward, getting much too close to her personal space, “If you were paying attention you’d know I didn’t ask anyone to  _ get _ the key,” He argued back. 

Isabella nearly laughed, “It was close enough, you want us to find it for you-” He held up a finger like he was going to correct her and tell her that  _ they _ were the ones who wanted to find it because it would lead to saving Elizabeth, but she didn’t let him interrupt her, “I know, we want to find it, it doesn’t matter, but I think I deserve some answers,” She finished, crossing her arms over her chest. 

He was quick to narrow his eyes at her and push past her, she was sure he was going to leave and refuse to answer her, but she spun around to see him walk straight into his cabin, and she nearly balked when she realized that he’d left the door open, practically inviting her inside. Sure she wanted answers, but she didn’t know how far she was willing to go for them, and going inside his cabin with him inside it as well just felt a little bit too far fetched for her liking. If it had been anyone else she wouldn’t have hesitated to get her answers, but it was Jack, the man who seemed to be much too handsy with everyone he met, it was just a bit too uncomfortable for her. 

But there was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to go inside and get her answers from him, so, after some slight hesitation, she followed him in.

The cabin was just like she remembered it when she woke up there one morning all those months ago by herself, but she didn’t dwell on it for long, because Jack took up almost all of her thoughts almost immediately, and she was forced to try and keep her confidence up during their impending conversation. She swiftly made her way towards the center of the room, keeping her eyes on Jack as he walked around the room. 

“So you are planning on answering me then?” She asked, watching as Jack walked over towards the doorway again. For a second there, she thought that he was going to leave, and that he hadn’t silently invited her in here with him, but then he reached over and closed the door, shutting the two of them inside. She could’ve sworn right then and there she felt her heart drop, but it was too late to back out now, she had to go through with her questions now that she was in his cabin, and she wasn’t going to back out just because he made it that much more… intimate. 

Jack spun around to face her, his back to the door, leaving her feeling even more caged into the room, “I can’t just give you answers so easily,” He decided after a moment of silence between the two of them. 

Isabella frowned at that, of course it wasn’t going to be as easy as she hoped, “What do you want?” She asked, deciding to get straight to the point, beating around the bush would only force her to stay here longer than she ever would’ve wanted to. 

She wasn’t sure if saying that to him was the best thing for her to do, the smile on his face wasn’t one she was very happy to see, “You want information, maybe there’s something I want too…” He began, practically pacing around the room and forcing her to spin on her heels so she wouldn’t take her eyes off of him for even a second. 

Of course he was going to make it about himself, nothing happened on this ship without him knowing about it, and if she had to guess, she was sure he was going to ask her more about why she was here, and if it meant she’d learn more about Davy Jones, she was willing to agree to it, “What do you want to know?” She asked. 

Jack turned away from her then, going to toy with some trinkets on one of the far shelves in the cabin instead of looking at her, “I don’t think you and Mr. Turner are telling me everything about your venture to me ship,” He confessed, flipping through some old papers before turning back to her again, “What’s say you tell me what Beckett really wants for yer sister’s freedom, and I’ll tell you why I’m asking about Davy Jones,” He practically purred, marching right back over to Isabella, so they were standing less than a foot apart. 

She narrowed her eyes as she looked up at him, of course he would know Beckett was involved in this somehow, but his offer was fair enough, she just had to make sure he wouldn’t back out once she told him her side of the story, “Alright,” She agreed, “But you tell me first, I want to make sure you won’t change your mind when I’m done with my story,” Isabella was quick to negotiate. 

Immediately, a finger was held up in her face, he was shaking it at her, clearly not happy with her demands, “What if you change your mind when I’m done with  _ my _ story?” He countered, tapping her quickly on the forehead with the finger that had been shoved in her face. 

She pushed his hand away before he had the chance to touch her again, not liking the way his hand seemed to linger, or the way her stomach seemed to drop at the contact, “I’m not leaving until I know why Davy Jones is so important,” She decided, convincing him at the same time she convinced herself, “How about we’ll talk at the same time, give away bits of information a little at a time?” She offered, hoping he would agree to her new deal. 

He seemed thoughtful for a moment, but a smile graced his face soon after she finished speaking and his hand shot out, as if to shake hers, “You’ve got yerself a deal,” He agreed, urging her to take his hand as he flashed her a toothy grin. 

Isabella hesitated for a moment, but she thrust her hand into his, giving it a quick shake, wanting to get their conversation over with, but just as she moved to pull her hand away from him, he tightened his grip and pulled her forward, causing her to let out a little shriek as he spun her around and threw his arm over her shoulder, forcing her to plop down on the bed next to him in one swift movement. Before she even had the chance to shout at him for the onslaught, he started talking, cutting her arguments off immediately, “Davy Jones, where to begin, well you’ve heard the stories, so there’s no point in starting there,” He muttered, his fingers dancing up and down her arm as he spoke, “So if you’ve heard of Jonesie, then you’ve heard of his little pet,” He said, popping his ‘p,’ when he looked down at her. 

She nodded, not wanting to interrupt him so early on in his story in case he decided it was already her turn to talk, and thankfully, he decided to continue, “The kraken,” he gnashed his teeth together at the name and shook his head before continuing, “The  _ beastie _ can take down entire vessels, and Jones is in control of who it decides to take down to the locker,” He sounded like he was going to continue, but he stopped and gave her a squeeze, looking down at her expectantly. 

Isabella hadn’t realized he still had his arm wrapped around her, and she elbowed him in the side, hoping he’d get the hint, but of course he didn’t, “Fine, that’s not much to go off of, but I guess I’ll start,” She moved so she could cross her legs over one another where she was sitting, so they were both pulled up on the bed now, “After you left about a year ago, Norrington left, not really sure where he went, but he jumped ship so to speak. Elizabeth and Will were set to be married not long after and only about a week ago was supposed to be their wedding-” She began to explain, but Jack cut her off with a wave of his hand. 

“I don’t think their wedding has much to do with you, hmm?” He patronized, leaving her to swat at him once more, hushing him as she did so. 

“Oy, I’m getting there!” She argued, “Anyways, on their wedding day, Will never showed because Beckett came to Port Royal, he proceeded to arrest Elizabeth, and then he arrested Will and myself as well, for the unseeable future, technically, we should’ve been hanged,” She finished, hoping he’d pick up with his story after her significant start. 

Jack, on the other hand, didn’t seem to want to continue on with his story, “And you were set off to steal my compass for Beckett, yes? Seems very fitting,” He muttered, before straightening himself up, “Having known Beckett, I don’t think that me compass is all he wanted,” Jack deduced, biting a finger as he looked down as Isabella. 

She shook her head, noticing that he had a white cloth wrapped around the hand that was by his face for the first time, and taking a mental note of it, “I think it’s your turn, Captain,” She addressed, hoping to get more out of him in the meantime. 

At the use of his title, he shifted the arm around her so that he could twist a strand of her hair in his fingers, “Hmm,” He grumbled for a moment before deciding what he was going to say to her, “Jones has cursed one of my crew mates, the kraken is on it’s way, and the only way to get rid of this crew member’s  _ black spot _ is to have our dealings with Jones,” He explained, keeping his explanation brief before throwing the ball back in her court. 

She sighed through her nose but continued to talk on her own, “I want to know which one of your crewmembers has the black spot, and why you don’t just abandon them to the kraken, but I digress,” She decided, “You were right before, the compass wasn’t all he wanted- and I still don’t understand why it’s so important, I’ll expect and explanation, but the compass agreed Elizabeth and Will’s freedom, the subject of my freedom was another issue,” She trailed off, not sure if she should actually tell Jack what she bargained with Beckett. 

At this point thought, she was sure Jack would see through her lies with ease, and she would be surprised if his curiosity died down after this one conversation if she didn’t confess everything now, “What did  _ he _ want from you?” He asked, cutting her off, his tone darkening momentarily. 

She faltered for a moment, feeling very hesitant about her newest confession, but she just had to get it all out in the open, maybe now he would be more willing to help her, “I didn’t quite get my freedom back, I’m not sure if I can,” She began, “Beckett asked for my hand in marriage, actually, and that wouldn’t exactly be considered freedom, would it?” Isabella let out a humorless laugh, not wanting to think about the subject of her future, or what she might have to do to secure it. 

Jack seemed to think he wasn’t getting the whole story, which was true, she just hoped he wouldn’t care to press on it at the moment, but of course nothing ever went as planned, “Yer not telling me everything, luv, Beckett might’ve asked for your hand, but knowing you, you’d never accept,” He explained, sounding very smug in his assumption of the situation. 

She scoffed, “You think you know me?” Isabella asked, unsure if she was mocking him or if she actually wanted to know the answer to that, “Nevermind,” She quickly interrupted, figuring she should just continue on with her confession, “Anyways, I wasn’t going to agree, you’re right, but my father already agreed… and if I said no,” She gulped, “I- I asked to come help Will save Elizabeth, and he said that if I come back and accept his proposal then he will clear your name,” She decided, not liking how shaky her voice sounded. 

The finger that was wrapped around her hair tugged at it, and she looked up at Jack sharply, narrowing her eyes at him as he practically forced her to look at him, “My name? Didn’t know our dear ol’ Beckett was still looking for me, should’ve guessed,  _ but _ that’s why you’re here, right? You’re not going back to Port Royal when William gets my compass, you’re running away,” He positioned his face that much closer to hers, his heavy breath hitting her face as he spoke. 

Isabella quickly made to move away from him, but the finger wrapped up in her hair moved quickly so his whole hand was cupping the back of her head, pulling her that much closer to him, “How would you know?” She breathed, wanting to keep him distracted by talking before he could go any further with whatever he was doing here. 

His mouth broke out in a toothy grin as he held her in place, shifting to face her more on his small bed, “If you want to learn how to run, you’re on the right ship,” Jack drawled out, “But running won’t clear my name, would it?” He asked.

She shifted so her legs were off the bed once more, turning her knees away from him while her face was still awkwardly angled towards his, “You’re a pirate, nothing’s going to clear your name,” She snapped. 

He nodded in agreement, but still refused to let her go, “Aye, but this could give me a few years head start,” Jack was quick to bargain, and Isabella couldn’t help but wonder how the conversation had turned on her so quickly, she had to get herself back on track and hopefully salvage the conversation before it continued to go south. 

“At the cost of my freedom? Since you know how appealing your own is, you wouldn’t think you’d be so quick to sacrifice someone else’s,” She bit, her one hand coming up to support her weight on the bed between them, “And it’s only a few year’s head start, that’s not much, the least you could do once this is all over would be to drop me off someplace far away from Beckett, it would be for both our sakes,” Isabella decided to bargain in return. She hadn’t begun their conversation with the idea that she would bargain for her free passage from him so soon, but hopefully he’d buy it. 

 Jack wrinkled his nose in disagreement, “No,” He decided after a moment. 

“What do you mean no?” She repeated, trying to wrench her head away from his hand at his statement. Jack was quick to release her head and let his hand slide down until it was resting at the base of her neck, his fingers tapping rhythmically against her back, and she stopped squirming, surprised at his actions. 

“I mean  _ no _ ,” He shrugged. 

Isabella left him no time to continue, feeling frustrated with him, he was a pirate, his name wasn’t ever going to be cleared, and if he thought he was going to just send her off into Beckett’s arms he had another thing coming, “You can’t just say no!” She argued, “Once Elizabeth is with Will, I’ll be leaving, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me,” Isabella said, feeling much angrier than she looked at the moment, still stuck in Jack’s clutches. 

He wasted no time in getting to his feet, causing her to yelp as she was released unexpectedly, and he spun around to face her, holding his arms out wide, “I’m not going to drop you off anywhere,” He decided, a smile on his face.

She frowned, still sitting on the bed as she stared up at him, wondering what he was doing, “Why’s that?” Isabella demanded. 

“I’ve already told you, you’re on the right ship for running away, might as well give you a place on my crew,” Jack said with a small shrug. 

Her jaw dropped, that was the last thing she expected, he  _ had _ offered her a place on the Pearl before, but this time was different, she was sure that he was going to make her go back to Beckett, why wouldn’t he want a few years head start? She wasn’t sure how to answer him, it felt like her mind wasn’t quite working at the moment, so she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared him down, “I’ve been talking for too long, it’s your turn to tell me which crew member has the black spot,” She demanded, liking being back in control for just a moment. 

“That wouldn’t be very fair to my men, best to respect his privacy, eh?” He answered almost immediately. 

Of course he wasn’t going to tell her, she was surprised she got him to tell her as much as he did already, but she wasn’t planning on giving up so easily, “Fine, but you can at least tell me what’s so special about your compass, especially if Beckett wants it so badly,” Isabella quickly decided. 

Jack’s hand immediately went to his compass, which was attached to his belt, like always, he was quick to hold it out in front of him, flipping it open and looking at it for a moment before passing it to Isabella, “Here,” He offered, urging her to take it. 

She took the compass, watching as it spun around a couple times before it pointed to the north-east, she didn’t know what it was pointing towards, but hopefully she’d find out. She looked up at Jack to see him peering over the edge of the compass, trying to see what it was pointing at, “Are you thinking about your sister?” He asked, watching the compass settle in place. 

Isabella frowned, “... I wasn’t specifically, but that’s why I’m here,” She confessed, still staring down at the compass. 

“Then what’s it pointing to?” He asked, his eyes flickering between Isabella and the compass. 

Clearly, he was trying to make her work it out, and it was obvious that the compass was important to him, since he hardly ever let it out of his sight, but she didn’t know what it pointed to. She tried to think back to all the times she tried to guess what the compass pointed to and what he told her about it more than a year ago. The first time she was allowed to use it he told her that they needed a crew to help them find Elizabeth, and she believed him, and she wanted to follow the compass. An idea hit her very quickly, but she didn’t know if she believed it herself, it sounded so surreal. 

“Does it point to where you want to go the most?” She asked, a little hesitantly, it was so absurd, but it was  _ Jack’s _ . 

A grin broke out over his face, and he straightened up so he was standing tall next to her again, “It points to what you  _ want _ most, anything you want, anything in the world,” He explained, taking the compass from her hands as she tried to comprehend what that meant exactly. 

He was watching it spin around again, and she leant over to see where the needle landed, but he snapped it shut before she could look, “So it was pointing to Elizabeth?” She asked once he clasped it back onto his belt. 

Jack shrugged, not looking at her as he walked around the cabin, “If she’s what you want most, then yes, it was pointing to your dear sister,” He agreed. 

“How are you supposed to know what it’s pointing at? If I didn’t know I wanted Elizabeth’s freedom more than anything how would I know?” She asked, not being able to stop herself, it was just too interesting for her to not have a billion questions to ask him. He didn’t seem very interested in her questions at the moment, so she kept asking them, hoping he’d decide to answer one of them, “How did you even get the compass? Oh, what if you don’t know what you want most? Do you know what you want?” She asked, noticing that he snapped his head to the side to look at her after her last question. 

Finally she felt like she was getting back at him for the stunt he’d pulled earlier, grabbing her on the bed, something she really didn’t appreciate, and if he shot down her questions now she wasn’t going to give up so soon, “Of course I know what I want,” He said, marching back up towards her. 

“What do you want?” She asked, trying to not let him intimidate her as he stared down at her. 

“I want to help you and dear William get your bonnie lass back safely, speaking of, I’m sure Mr. Turner is curious about you, probably wondering where you ran off to, perhaps we should join my crew again, savvy?” He asked, starting towards the door to his cabin. 

She nearly laughed at him, she was the one who spent all this time wanting to leave his cabin, and now here he was trying to avoid her question. Isabella was quick to run up to him, slipping between him and the door so he couldn’t leave so soon, especially now that she was the one in charge of the conversation. She just got to the door in time, her back pressed flat up against it, but Jack clearly hadn’t expected her to jump right in front of him, and he would’ve walked straight into her if it weren’t for her holding up her hands to keep him from walking any further, so they landed straight on his chest, “Leaving so soon?” She asked, looking up at him with wide eyes. 

Isabella surprised herself with her actions, but she was even more surprised when she saw Jack’s eyes darken for a brief moment. She gulped, and dropped her hands, instantly deciding that this might not have been her brightest idea, and she only got more apprehensive when Jack took another step towards her, the two of them just a few inches apart. One of his hands came up brushed her hair over her shoulder with his knuckles as he closed in on her a little bit more, “I thought you’d want to leave, we should be making port soon,” He told her, his hand still lingering by her neck. 

She was pressed flat against the door, liking her idea less and less as she attempted to get as far away from him as possible, but her mouth wasn’t quite listening to her, “Not until you tell me what you want most,” She spoke before she could even think about what she was saying, and she silently cursed herself afterwards.  

“I already told you what you wanted to know, the compass points to what you want most, what  _ I _ want most is another question entirely,” He explained, looking down at her from his almost impressive height at the moment. 

Her hands came up again so they were pressing against him, trying to maintain some distance from him so the two of them wouldn’t be pressed up against each other, “Humor me?” She tried, not liking how weak her voice sounded. 

Jack grinned down at her, the hand by her neck falling on her shoulder while the other one found her waist, and he leant down even further, causing Isabella’s heart to positively race, with nerves or excitement, she wasn’t sure. He was so close to her now she didn’t know what to expect, and she couldn’t help but curse herself for being so bold, all she wanted now was to get out of there. He paused when his face was a few inches away from hers, “Not this time,” Was all he whispered before he used his grip on her to spin the two of them around, so he was closer to the door now, and in one swift movement, he released her and pulled the door open, sauntering out onto the deck. 

Isabella allowed herself a minute to catch her breath. She had no clue what the hell just happened, or how she’d even gotten herself into that mess! All she knew was that she didn’t plan on letting herself get that close to him again, not while she was on his ship, anyways. The sooner they could get his bloody key, the sooner they could save Elizabeth, and she’d just have to find a different means of escape from Beckett, since Jack wasn’t willing to let her off on some quiet island, she was just going to have to figure that out for herself! 


	10. Chapter 10

It didn’t take long for Isabella to figure out that no one really knew where they were going, except Jack, who steered the Pearl around with ease until they had made port again and were traveling by small rowboats once more in the middle of a dense jungle. They were split up into two different row boats, and thankfully, Isabella ended up wedged in between Mr. Gibbs and Will, with Jack sitting at the front of their boat and Pintel and Ragetti sitting in the rear, the two of them given the job of rowing them to shore. 

Will scooted to the side, getting himself that much closer to Mr. Gibbs as he began to talk in a hushed voice, the sounds of the jungle around them making it difficult for Isabella to make out what he was saying as they moved through the forest, “Why is Jack afraid of the open ocean?” He hissed to Gibbs. 

Gibbs wrinkled his nose in response, “Well, if you believe such things, there’s a beast that does the bidding of Davy Jones,” He began, clearly capturing the attention of the three men around him. Isabella had already heard this story though, she was more interested in the way that Jack’s shoulders tensed once the Kraken was mentioned and she couldn’t help but watch how he reacted to the rest of Mr. Gibbs’ story, or she wanted to. It was like he knew she was staring at him, he turned his head slightly to the side but fast enough so Isabella didn’t have time to look away before he smirked down at her. 

She was thankful for the dark forest at that point because she was sure that her face lit up immediately once she’d been spotted, and when she turned away to listen to Mr. Gibbs again she could’ve sworn that Jack was still watching her. 

Isabella _knew_ that he was watching her once he lowered himself down in the boat, his arm nearly brushing up against hers. She decided it would be better for her to focus on Gibbs entirely than to think about what Jack was doing sitting next to her at this point. It wasn’t until his arm grazed against her back and casually slipped around her shoulders that she realized he’d gotten much too close to her without her even noticing. She couldn’t help but jump at the contact, they were so close that she could feel Jack laughing at her from where he sat next to him, and the arm around her shoulders tightened, pulling her into his side. 

Thankfully, the other men were still so taken with Gibbs’ story that they didn’t realize what was going on at the other end of the boat as Isabella stiffened underneath Jack’s heavy arm, she never had been someone who liked to be touched too much, but with how much he invaded personal space, she was almost becoming used to his touches, and she managed to calm herself down fast enough to not gather anyone’s attention and be able to talk to him like a normal person, “Are you finally going to tell any of us where we’re going?” She asked, keeping her voice low as to not draw too much attention to them. 

From where he was sitting he was practically lounging, he answered her, his fingers tapping rhythmically against her shoulder, “We’re visiting an old friend,” He muttered in response. 

Thankfully, their boat emerged from behind a large rock, and a small hut came into view, Jack’s attention immediately leaving her and turning towards the hut. He was still sitting next to her when she asked, “I’m guessing that’s his place?” She raised an eyebrow, feeling only slightly uneasy when their boat came up against a small wooden dock. 

“Aye, it’s _hers_ ,” He agreed, giving her one last look, almost like it was a warning before he clamored over the side of the boat and up onto the dock, offering his hand out to her once he was standing again. 

None of the men behind her made any move to stand up to follow Jack before her, so she reached out and grasped Jack’s hand, letting him pull her straight out of the boat and next to him again, the other men following soon after her. 

“No worries, mates,” Jack grinned once Gibbs and Will had joined them on the dock, “Tia Dalma and I go way back, thick as thieves, nigh inseparable we are- were. Have been… before,” He couched, shooting a grin down at Isabella as he turned around and started towards the hut. 

“Mind the boat,” Gibbs immediately said, barely bothering to look at Isabella before he followed after Jack. 

She knew that whatever was going on in the hut she wanted to be a part of it, she just couldn’t help but to be curious when it came to Jack, and without thinking about what she was doing, she spun around to repeat what Gibbs just said to her to Will before following after the older man. 

Isabella wasted no time in catching up to Jack and Gibbs, following closely behind as they entered the hut. She could immediately tell that Jack was nervous, and that only made her all the more curious to see who exactly this woman was. 

Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long, “Jack Sparrow,” When she entered the hut behind Gibbs, it didn’t take long for a beautiful woman to greet them, her eyes locked on Jack, who held his arms out wide in greeting. 

“Tia Dalma,” He responded, ducking at the last minute once he almost walked straight into a jar of eyeballs hanging from the ceiling. 

Isabella grimaced when she realized that the hut was filled with more than just eyeballs, there was a plethora of strange things that surrounded them, and it was only then that she realized most of the crew had followed them inside and were now all getting their own look at Tia Dalma and her strange hut. 

Once the woman started to speak again, Isabella was captured by her presence again, “I always knowed the wind was going to blow you back to me one day,” She grinned, walking closer to Jack. 

Isabella felt the strange urge to step forward and make herself known to Tia Dalma for some reason. She didn’t know why that was, but she felt like she was getting ignored, and she wasn’t sure if that was something she liked. Back in Port Royale, she was the governor’s daughter, people always paid attention to her, and here, being a woman with a bunch of pirates, people normally tended to spare her a glance at least! But before Isabella could do anything, Tia Dalma was turning away from Jack, her attention captured by someone else, “You,” She said, pointing at Will, “You have a touch a’ destiny about you, William Turner,” Tia Dalma grinned, her eyes briefly sliding over the rest of them, passing right over Isabella, before coming back to Will. 

“You know me?” Will asked, balking slightly. 

Tia Dalma had gotten herself right up in his face at that point, and Isabella almost found the situation funny as the woman smiled up at him, “You want to know me?” She asked, leaning that much closer to him. 

“They’ll be no knowing here,” Jack jumped in between the two of them before Tia Dalma could get any closer to Will. Isabella almost scoffed when she realized that he just did what she had just wanted to do a moment ago! And a part of her couldn’t help but notice how she felt almost offended by Jack’s declaration, “We’ve come here for help and we’re not leaving without it,” Jack then grabbed Tia Dalma by the arm and started to lead her away from his crew, murmuring something to her that the rest of them couldn’t hear. 

Tia Dalma was quick to respond to Jack’s whisper, prying herself out of his grasp and commanding the situation with ease once more, “Come,” She ordered, heading towards the back of the hut. 

Jack was quick to turn around and motion them forward, “Come,” He repeated, and Isabella was so caught up in the situation that she didn’t even realize that she was the first to follow after him. 

Once they were crammed in the back room, Isabella found herself standing that much closer to Jack than she was before, and Tia Dalma made her way next to Will again, one of her hands coming up to caress his face, “What service may I do ya?” She asked, her head turning sharply to Jack before Will could respond, “You know I demand payment.” 

Jack stepped forward again, clearly eager to please, “I brought payment!” He countered, turning behind him and whistling for a cage to be brought forward, which Pintel eagerly obliged, “Look, an undead monkey, top that!” Jack grinned, wasting no time in pulling out a rifle and shooting the monkey before anyone could say anything. 

It was strange to hear gunshots again, which was something Isabella was definitely going to have to get used to because as soon as the shot rang out, she found herself jumping up in the air, the noise startling her and sending her heart racing. Her quick moment had captured Jack’s attention with ease and while she was still trying to calm her racing heart, Jack was quick to reach out to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, just like he’d done on the small ship, pulling her to his side. She was so caught off guard from the shot that she didn’t even realize Jack had wrapped his arm around her until she was pulled straight into his side, her hand coming up to catch herself by digging into the fabric of his coat. 

Her mouth nearly fell open, sure doing this to her on the small dinghy when most of the crew was caught up in a story was a different situation, but right now she was sure that Jack and Tia Dalma were both the center of attention, and she was dragged straight into the middle of that! 

Before she could push herself away from him she realized that Tia Dalma was now looking directly at her, which she hoped wasn’t a bad thing. In all honesty, she hoped that whatever was going on here wasn’t some strange lover’s quarrel between Jack and Tia Dalma that her and Will had been unwittingly been pulled into, but she had no way of knowing, “Ahh,” Tia Dalma breathed, sauntering closer to the two of them, her eyes flickering back and forth between the two of them, “Jack Sparrow does not know what he wants,” Once she reached the two of them, Jack’s fingers tightened around her shoulder, as Tia Dalma reached up as if to caress her face like she’d done to Will earlier, “Or do you, but are loathe to claim it as your own,” Isabella really didn’t like the way that the woman was staring her down, or the fact that she was moving to touch her, so before she had the chance to, she found herself stepping to the side, tucking herself that much more comfortably underneath Jack’s arm, which he responded to by pulling her that much closer as his other hand came up to his mouth so he could bite at his rings. 

Tia Dalma shot her a quick grin before turning away from the two of them and walking towards the back of the room, finally giving Isabella a second to breath, there was just something so uneasy about the woman that Isabella couldn’t help but to feel the same way around her. With Tia Dalma walking away, Isabella felt much more calm and her gaze traveled up to Jack, who looked _very_ pleased with himself. With a huff, she shuffled to the side, making to move away from him, but he was quick to tighten his fingers around her shoulder and give a tug in response, keeping her anchored to his side, and because she didn’t want to cause a scene, she decided for now that it would be in her best interest to stay put. 

“Your key go to a chest,” Tia Dalma continued, taking Isabella’s attention away from Jack again as she looked up to see that the woman had a sly smile on her face, clearly she felt like she knew things that the rest of them didn’t know, “And it is what lay inside the chest you seek. Don’t it?” She asked. 

“What’s inside?” Isabella asked, not being able to help herself. She wasn’t sure if she spoke up because she was curious or if it was because she was she wanted to prove something to the woman but as soon as the words were out of her mouth she felt Jack tug on her shoulders again, almost as if warning her not to speak, which she _really_ didn’t appreciate. 

“Gold?” Pintel asked, “Jewels? Unclaimed properties of valuable nature?” He demanded. 

“Nothing bad I hope,” Ragetti agreed. 

“You know of Davy Jones, yes?” Tia Dalma asked, “A man of the sea. A great sailor. Until he run afoul of that which vex all men,” She grinned. 

Isabella felt Jack shift beside her, but when she looked over at him, he was still staring at Tia Dalma, “What vexes all men?” Will perked up. 

“What indeed?” Tia Dalma responded, brushing her fingers over Will’s hand as she grinned up at him. 

The crew started to call things out, clearly just naming the things that they loved the most, it was when Jack’s arm fell from around her shoulder that he called out what Tia Dalma was looking for, “A woman!” He decided, still standing next to Isabella. 

As soon as his arm dropped from around her, she took a quick step to the side, hoping that this wouldn’t come back to her later, but she knew how Jack’s crew could be and she’d been teased by them before, but _that_ wasn’t something she would appreciate being brought up to her later on! 

“A woman!” Tia Dalma was quick to agree, “He fell in love.” 

“No, no, no, no, I heard it was the sea he fell in love with,” Mr. Gibbs disagreed. 

Her head snapped towards him, “Same story, different version, all are true. Seeing as it was a woman as changing and harsh and untameable as the sea. He never stopped loving her. But the pain it caused him was too much to live with. But not enough to cause him to die,” She explained. 

“What exactly did he put into the chest?” Will asked. 

Tia Dalma carefully brought her hand to her chest, “Him heart,” She finished, grinning widely. 

“He couldn’t live putting his heart in a chest, could he?” Ragetti asked. 

“It was not worth feeling what small, fleeting joy life brings. And so, him carved out him heart, lock it down in a chest, and hide the chest from the world. The key he keep with him at all times,” Tia Dalma explained, almost sounding upset about it. 

For a moment, Isabella thought she was the only person who wasn’t surprised, but as soon as she looked over everyone’s face she realized that Jack also didn’t look surprised at the heart proclamation. She thought that pirates would know more about the legend of Davy Jones, but apparently she was wrong, she was almost _positive_ that would’ve been common knowledge, but she didn’t know that it was going to be the heart in the chest until Tia Dalma started her story. 

“You knew this?” Will asked, turning to Jack. 

“I did not!” Jack balked, taking control of the situation once more, and Isabella was happy she wasn’t neatly tucked under his arm any longer, “I didn’t know where the key was. But now we do! So, all that’s left is to climb aboard the Flying Dutchman, grab the key, and _you_ go back to Port Royal and save your bonnie lass, aye?” He grinned, clearly pleased with how this played out. 

Jack looked set on heading back to the Pearl after that but before Jack could lead them back out to their boats, Tia Dalma was stepping forward, “Let me see your hand,” She ordered, holding out her hand to Jack. Isabella almost thought that the woman was talking to her for a second, and she clutched her bandaged hand to her chest at the declaration, not wanting any of the crew to know that she was injured, even though she’d traveled with most of them before she was sure that no one would be too pleased if she had any sort of injury while on board the Pearl. 

Thankfully, Jack turned around after a moment holding out his unmarred hand towards the woman before thinking better of his and holding out his wrapped up one. She made quick work of unwrapping his hand, and Isabella couldn’t help but peer over his shoulder, trying to see what Tia Dalma was getting at. 

Once his hand was unwrapped, Tia Dalma turned his palm over so that everyone could see the huge black spot that took up half of his hand. It didn’t take long for the crew to figure out what was on his hand either, and Gibbs immediately reacted with a strange little ritual, which Pintel and Ragetti were quick to copy. 

Isabella wished she could say that she was shocked at the discovery, but she should’ve known it was him that had the black spot, who else on his ship would it have been? She was positive she’d never met anyone else that got into as much trouble as Jack did, and she was sure she’d never meet anyone else like him in her life, so it only made sense that it was himself that he’d been talking about earlier in his cabin! She felt thick for not knowing in the first place!

“My eyesight’s as good as ever, just so you know!” Jack commented offhandedly, shrugging as his crew reacted to the new discovery. 

When Jack looked down at her, she raised an eyebrow in response, clearly not amused by this turn in events, but at least it made sense now, why he didn’t want to travel through the sea, she definitely didn’t want to get back on the boat knowing that the kraken was after it’s captain. 

While everyone was distracted by Jack’s hand, Tia Dalma started to rummage through a trunk towards the back of the room, muttering to herself as she did so before turning back towards Jack, “Davy Jones cannot make port. Cannot step on land but once every ten years,” She explained, holding a jar of dirt out to Jack, “Land is where you will be safe, Jack Sparrow, so you will carry land with you,” She finished, passing him the jar. 

He looked apprehensive about taking the jar, “Dirt,” He muttered, looking back up at Tia Dalma, “This is a jar of dirt.” 

“Yes,” She smiled. 

Isabella nearly snorted at how ridiculous this situation seemed, she had no clue how a jar of dirt was supposed to help him, but somehow she managed to hold her laughter back, “Is the… jar of dirt going to help?” He asked, looking at Tia Dalma with a furrowed brow. 

“If you don’t want it, give it back,” She demanded, holding out her hands to take the jar back. 

The jar was immediately clutched to Jack’s chest, “No,” He argued, holding the jar to him like it was a lifeline. 

“Then it helps,” She said, still smiling. 

Will was next to step forward then, “It seems we have a need to find the Flying Dutchman.” 

Thankfully, Tia Dalma was quick to help them out after Will asked for her help, giving them directions to where she believed the Dutchman would be, but Isabella figured that as long as they had Jack’s compass up their sleeve, they really couldn’t get too lost, right? 

Before she knew it, they were being ushered out of Tia Dalma’s cabin and back onto their own boats, heading back to the Pearl, which she was more than thankful to be doing. Jack continued to clutch onto the jar of dirt as they were rowed along the river again, not bothering to say anything as they went back towards the Pearl, even though his crew clearly had a lot to say about the black spot. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for them to reach the Pearl and before Jack could get bombarded with questions and accusations, he slipped inside the Captain’s cabin, leaving his crew to wonder what to do next. 

Mr. Gibbs made the decision to stay at port for the night and get some sleep while they could, claiming that Jack would be back on his feet in no time and they would all have to be hard at work again. Isabella couldn’t help but agree, she definitely wasn’t going to skip out on any rest that she could possibly get, especially because she couldn’t even remember the last time she actually got a good night’s sleep! The only problem was that she still didn’t feel very comfortable sleeping down below with the rest of the crew, it just didn’t seem proper. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for her to be able to assure Will she was fine and just didn’t feel super tired at the moment and he went off towards the hammocks, leaving her alone on the deck out in the darkness of the forest. 

Once she was sure that everyone was asleep, she let herself collapse against the wall of the ship, her back pressed up against the wall and her shoulder wedged up against a heavy wooden crate, giving her a nice little nook to rest against as she let herself drift off. The gentle lull of the ship on the water helped her relax a little bit, her head falling against the back of the ship as she felt her eyes slip shut. 

If there had been peace and quiet around her for just that much longer, she was sure that she would’ve been able to drift off into sleep, but she was jolted out of her daze when she heard heavy footsteps hitting the deck, slowly coming closer to her. 

She cracked her eye open to see two big black boots standing right in front of her, and her eyes slowly traveled upward to realize that it was none other than Jack standing there, causing her to let out a groan. 

“My crew couldn’t spare a hammock? Or did Pintel offer to share?” He grinned, one of his hands coming to rest on the crate she was trying to sleep against, his fingers tapping rhythmically and loudly enough so that she wouldn’t be able to ignore him and try to sleep again. 

Isabella rolled her eyes and stretched out her legs, yawning as she did so, “Pintel was already sharing with Ragetti, I decided to give them their space,” She replied, offhandedly, hoping he’d leave her alone soon enough so that she could go back to trying to fall asleep, hoping that it would be as easy as it seemed it was going to be just a moment ago. 

Her eyes slipped shut again and she could hear him shuffling around, assuming that he was going to go back to his cabin with his precious jar of dirt, but her eyes snapped open again when she felt him settle down next to her, his warmth radiating off of him. Her head shot over to look at him as he made himself comfortable, setting his hat down by his other side before he crossed his arms over his chest and leant back against the wall, almost mimicking her position. 

“What are you doing?” Isabella asked, hearing how tired she actually sounded now that she had someone to talk to. 

Jack looked up at her, shifting slightly so his hip was pressed up against hers, “Getting comfortable,” He deadpanned, practically forcing her further up against the crate. 

“What about your _bed_?” She insisted, trying to scoot further away from him. 

He shrugged in response, “Don’t need it,” Jack decided. 

“You’re not sleeping here,” Isabella continued, not knowing if she actually wanted to hear what his response was going to be. 

Jack was quick to shut his eyes and settle himself in that much more, “It’s my ship,” He argued back, his head falling back against the wall. 

Isabella grumbled under her breath at his response, and decided that it would be in her best interest to get away from him and not play into his games at the moment, wanting nothing more than to just get some rest for the moment, “Fine, hope you can get comfortable,” She decided, moving to push herself to her feet. 

Before she could pull herself up though, Jack’s hand fell heavy on her shoulder and she was dragged back down against the wall of the ship again, pressed up against Jack in a way that she’d rather not have to think about, “Gonna need you to stay put if I’m gonna be comfortable,” He mumbled, his hand not moving from its place on her shoulder. 

She didn’t quite know what to say to that, but she knew that she wanted to get out of there, “Let me go,” She groaned, pushing at his hand. 

Of course it didn’t work in her favor, Jack was quick to slide even closer to her, his arm on her shoulder wrapping around her waist and pulling her up against his side, “Oy, I’m just trying to make the best out of this situation here,” He argued, digging his fingers into her side. 

Isabella stilled immediately, not liking the warmth that spread through her body at the strange contact from him, “Maybe you can make the best of it by using your bed,” She continued to argue, not letting his antics intimidate her. 

“I think all I need is a good pillow,” He decided, leaving her with no time to figure out what he meant before he let go of her waist and fell to the side, letting his head fall straight onto her lap, looking up at her with a smug smile. 

Her mouth fell open immediately, and she decided that she had enough. Since he wasn’t anchoring her to his side any longer, she was able to shove him off of her with one strong push against his side, and she jumped to her feet before he could stop her again, feeling more awake than before, “Oy!” Jack argued, climbing to his feet immediately after she started away from him. 

“Don’t ‘oy’ me! I just want to get some sleep!” She continued to argue, feeling the exhaustion really hit her hard now, she was sure if she didn’t stop talking to him soon that she was going to snap, and she really didn’t want to do that right now, when she was pretty sure that Jack was willing to actually help her and Will out. 

Of course Jack was quick to follow after her, “I’m sure I could find ye a perfectly good hammock down below,” He offered, his steps following heavy behind her as she searched for a new spot to spend the night. 

She spun around to face him, stopping him from following her even further, “I’m _fine_ Captain, and I’m sure that no one will appreciate it very much in the morning if you are exhausted and unable to give orders because you spent the whole night on the deck, now goodnight,” She decided that she really had enough now, and even if he didn’t want to go to bed, she was going to make sure he got some rest! 

Before she knew what she was doing, her hands were on his shoulders and she was spinning him around, practically marching him back to his cabin to force him to go to sleep before he had the chance to argue with her again. But of course he didn’t make it easy for her, “I’ve never had a woman take me to bed before,” He muttered, and she could tell that he was grinning for all that he was worth. 

Immediately she let go of him, she’d gotten him so close to his cabin, but she couldn’t bring herself to close the distance between them and the door after he said that, “Excuse me?” She demanded, planting her hands on her hips. 

He spun around, the smirk wiped from his face as he shot her an innocent look, “Don’t think I said anything,” He muttered, clasping his hands together in front of him. 

She rolled her eyes, “Just go to sleep, please,” She decided to almost beg, hoping that he would finally get the hint. 

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment, almost like he was going to actually listen to her, but of course nothing was easy on the Pearl, “How can the Captain sleep if not all of his crew can sleep peacefully?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. 

“I was sleeping peacefully before you came along and bothered me,” She said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

He hummed in response to her, “I’ll propose an idea, that might put us both at ease,” He began, pacing back and forth in front of his door, looking to her for confirmation before he continued, “My cabin does share a rather _large_ berth, and I’d feel much better if my crew all had proper places to sleep for the night-” He began, only to be cut off by Isabella very quickly. 

“If you think that I’m going to be sharing a bed with you, you’ve got another thing coming!” She quickly cut in, not liking at all where the conversation was going. 

Jack shrugged, rubbing his hands together before turning towards her, “If ye insist,” He decided, and before she knew what was going on, he moved faster than she could track, circling his arms around her waist before tossing her over his shoulder, starting to march away from his cabin. 

She shrieked at the unwanted contact, her fists pounding against his back as soon as she regained her wits, “Put me down!” She demanded, not bothering to lower her voice. 

Jack, on the other hand, spoke calmly over his shoulder in response, “You made your decision, luv, I’m just going to take you down to the crew’s quarters meself, make sure you’re nice and comfortable before I go back to my cabin. Although, there’s probably not many beds left, you might have to nestle up to one of my men down there,” He commented. 

Isabella quieted down long enough to hear what he had to say before she struggled to get out of his grip again, continuing to pound against his back as she attempted to throw herself off of his shoulder, “You are _not_ bringing me down there!” She shouted. 

He wasted no time in bringing his hand up to the back of her thighs, keeping her firmly pinned to his shoulder and causing her to still in shock once more, “I don’t think you have much of a say in this anymore luv, I’m sure Cotton would love some company though,” He said loud enough to make sure she heard every word. 

Not that she had anything against Cotton but she shuddered at the thought, hopefully if Jack did drag her down there she’d be able to slip past him to come up to the main deck again, but she wouldn’t put it past him to guard the door until he knew she was fast asleep, so that really left her with no other option, “Fine!” She called out, managing to stop him just before he started to head below deck.

“What was that luv, couldn’t quite hear you from back there,” Even though she couldn’t see his face she could tell he was positively grinning at her declaration. 

She hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should go through with this, but there was no way once she got down to the crew that she’d be able to sleep, or leave without waking anyone up, at least if she bunked with Jack for the night she’d be able to leave as soon as he fell asleep, and it wasn’t like she had to share his bed with him, maybe she could take up residence on a chair or something.

She let out a deep sigh, “I said fine, lets just go to your cabin,” Isabella groaned, feeling more than defeated as she dangled over his shoulder, “Just put me down!” 

Rather than putting her down, Jack spun on his heel and started off towards his cabin, keeping her in place on his shoulder, “Happy you came to your senses,” He practically sang, marching her back to his cabin. 

“Hey, let me down!” She argued. 

He reached the door then, walking much faster this time around as he opened the door and walked the two of them inside, “That was just insurance luv,” He said, finally shifting his hands so he could grab her around the waist once more and set her down on her feet. 

She huffed as she brushed her hair out of her face, crossing her arms over her chest once she had the chance to look up at Jack, “That was humiliating,” She countered, hoping he wouldn’t get the idea to do that in broad daylight in front of everyone one day. 

Jack only shrugged in response as he began to pull off his boots and jacket, clearly letting himself get comfortable, “Make yerself comfortable,” He said, ignoring her last comment as he set his clothes to the side. 

Without even looking at the bed, she marched herself over towards the small wooden chair in the corner of the room, sitting herself down and finally letting herself look at Jack once she took her seat, using that time to take off her own boots and jacket so she could at least attempt to get comfortable in the chair. 

Jack spun around to face the bed, spinning on his heel to face her once he realized she wasn’t lying down, “Ye don’t look very agreeable,” He said after a moment. 

“I’m fine,” She replied, trying to keep her cool, “I’ll just stay here.” 

He was quick to click his tongue in response, wagging a finger at her, “S’not how our deal works, unless you’d like me to escort you down below?” Jack scolded, offering her a hand. 

She nearly bristled at that, but she was almost too tired to argue at this point, and she had a bad feeling Jack had much more fight in her at this point than she did, maybe at this point she should just give in and get a good night’s sleep… if she even could get a good night’s sleep in the same bed as Jack. 

After a moment, she brushed his hand away and stood up, shooting him a harsh glare before she walked towards his bed, deciding that she would just have to suck it up for the night and let herself get some sleep while she still had the chance, “No funny business,” She shot at him before sitting down on his bed. 

Jack held his hands up, “You have my word,” He grinned, walking around to the other side of the bed. 

Watching him as he walked around the bed until he sat down on the other side, she hesitantly decided to lay down, watching as he did the same in a much more relaxed manner. Once she was laying down in the dark next to Jack of all people, she realized just how closely she was paying attention to his movements, unable to focus on anything else, even sleeping. 

“Goodnight,” Jack muttered, his face shoved into his pillow as she struggled to get comfortable next to him without having to touch him. 

“Yeah,” She muttered in response, pulling the sheet further around her shoulders as she scooted towards the edge of his bed. 

She knew that it wasn’t going to be easy for her to fall asleep here, especially because her mind kept wandering back to Jack laying less than a few inches away from her. She kept thinking that she was just too close to Jack, and she couldn’t help but to try to inch further away, partially making sure he really was asleep to see if she could make her escape in the meantime. 

She was sure that she’d been tucked under the blanket with Jack for at least a half hour before she decided to make her move. Hesitantly, she slipped one leg off the edge, pausing for a moment to make sure that she didn’t wake Jack up before she moved to slip her other one off as well, but before she had the chance to, she heard Jack shifting in his sleep beside her. 

Or at least, she thought he was sleeping, “Yer going to fall off if you move any further away,” He muttered, catching Isabella in the act. 

Before she could even decide if she’d rather take her chance and slip back into the bed, or make a break for it and hope he was just too tired to keep chasing her at that point, Jack reached a strong arm out and wrapped it tightly around Isabella’s waist, pulling her straight back into the bed, and directly into his body. 

She let out an oof at the abrupt motion, feeling like the wind had practically been knocked out of her as Jack let his arm slip further around her, keeping her anchored to his chest, “What is your problem!” She practically shrieked, trying to rip his arm off of her to no avail. 

Jack groaned, and dug his fingers into her side, “M’ just trying to get some sleep,” He complained. 

“I said no funny business!” She could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest at the unwanted contact, she always seemed to have very close encounters with Jack, and this was no different, but it didn’t help that this was the first time she’d ever been in bed with a man! When she thought about it, she’d never really been alone with a man before Jack, not including Will, but this was strange new territory for her, and she was sure that she didn’t care to explore it! 

“And I said goodnight, if you would just stay put that would’ve been the end of it, but now you’ve put us in this position,” He said, turning the blame around on her, “Now shut yer mouth and get some shut eye,” He ordered in a no nonsense tone of voice, clearly he was starting to get a little on edge with the lack of sleep he was getting as well. 

She had no clue how she was supposed to respond to that, on the one hand she could decide to just shut up and let the both of them get some much needed rest, but on the other hand, sleeping next to a man so close by herself was something she’d never done before, and an honest part of her was _scared_! 

Jack was so close to her that she could feel his breath hitting the back of her neck every couple of seconds, his hand flexing every once in a while as well, reminding her that she was tethered to him, and after a few minutes of the two of them being pressed up against each other, his feet started to nudge at hers, “What are you doing?” She finally groaned, hoping that something she said could get her out of this situation. 

Maybe he had thought she actually fell asleep because as soon as she spoke, he scooted closer to her, pressing his nose up against the back of her head, his forehead pressing up against her next, and he used his hand to pull her even closer to him, “Trying to go to sleep,” He muttered, his breath ruffling her hair. His feet were still nudging at hers and before she knew it, he was slipping a leg between hers, his warmth immediately overtaking her. 

Isabella couldn’t help the squeak that escaped her throat at the sudden change in position, “Jack!” She hissed, finally trying to push back against him a little bit. 

He groaned, and before she knew what was going on, she was flat on her back and Jack was practically draped over her, his head now resting on her shoulder, nose practically in her neck, his arm still around her along with half of his torso, and the leg that had slipped through hers a moment ago was now also draped over her, his knee pressed between both her legs. 

She jolted in shock at the sudden movement, not expecting the shift on his bed, “Let me go,” She demanded once he had settled. 

Almost childishly, he shook his head his hair half falling over his face at the motion, “Go to sleep,” He countered. 

Her mouth fell open, not knowing how to deal with this situation right now, she felt like she couldn’t say _anything_ , really there was nothing to say, she was too tired to fight him off of her, and there was no way she would be able to talk him out of it if he was refusing to say any more than that! 

She wasn’t sure how long she laid there after that, but after a little while she realized that Jack had fallen asleep, his chest moving up and down as his heavy breaths fell on the skin of her collarbone, and even in sleep, his grip didn’t seem to loosen on her. 

A little while after that, she realized that she actually was getting sleepy, and even though she hadn’t thought it possible, she started to drift off in his hold, eventually falling asleep wrapped up tightly in Jack’s embrace. 

* * *

Isabella was sure she’d never slept so comfortably on a ship in all her life, after she’d finally managed to fall asleep she couldn’t recall waking up even once until morning. But as soon as her eyes opened when the light first hit her face, she woke up _immediately_. 

She hadn’t expected to sleep so comfortably in Jack’s embrace, she thought that she’d stay still the whole night, not move anywhere, but that wasn’t the case at all. When she woke up, she realized that her and Jack were in a much more cozy position than she’d like to be with anyone, but to be cozied up to him of all people? At some point in the night she must’ve turned into his embrace, her head resting on his bicep as both of his arms were wrapped around her now, and it was her hips that were slightly tilted over his this time around, putting her practically on top of him. 

The first thing she tried to do when she woke up was push herself away from him, but his hands were resting on her back, keeping her tethered to his body, and once her mind caught up to her actions she realized that it might not be the smartest thing to do right now, it would be better for her to break out of his grasp without him knowing or let him wake up first and she can make her escape once he’s already gone. 

She practically flopped back down on the bed after that, trying to keep herself as far away from him as possible, just deciding to wait for him to wake up so she could finally be released. She managed to scoot so she was flat on her back, crossing her arms over her chest and noticing her bandaged hand. Cursing under her breath, she realized that she needed to change the bandage, and she really didn’t want Jack, or anyone else for that matter, to notice that she was still dealing with this small injury, if only he would wake up so she could get on with her day. 

Jack let out a tired little groan just then, and he started shifting around on his bed, for a second Isabella thought he was waking up and she shut her eyes quickly, hoping if he did wake up he would just stand up and get on with his day. But the only real motion she got from him was his hand traveling further around her back as he used the position to pull her that much closer to him. The unexpected motion forced her to open her eyes, and she nearly let out a little shriek at the motion but managed to stop herself at the last minute, realizing that he was definitely still asleep as he nuzzled into her that much further. 

Isabella decided that she’d had enough, she didn’t want Jack to wake up to her already awake just waiting for him to make a move to let her go, so she decided it would be in her best interest to wake him up somehow but still pretend to be asleep. 

She was quick to turn her face into his arm, hiding her sly smile as she sneakily moved her body over his and let her knee swiftly move over and up, straight in between his legs. Immediately, Jack jerked up, his grip on her tightening momentarily just as he realized what was going on. He let out a groan, and moved her knee away from him, and while she pretended to be asleep, she expected that to be the end of _that_. She didn’t expect Jack to angle his hips in a way that she couldn’t as easily knee him in the groin and flop back down on the bed, burying his face into her hair once more, “You’re more trouble than you’re worth,” He muttered into the top of her head. 

Isabella could’ve sworn she froze and gave herself away, Jack had to know she was awake, but after that all he did was sigh and pull himself that much closer to her. 

She blanched, not expecting her morning to be so… insane! But here she was. And now she really decided that she’d had enough!

With a sigh, Isabella decided to ‘wake up’ again, pushing against Jack’s chest as she did so, “Good morning to you too,” He muttered, a grin on his face as she forced him away from her. 

Once she was out of his arms, she wasted no time in jumping to her feet, trying to ignore his presence in the room as he stood up and started to get ready for the day. Isabella was quick to search for her boots, slipping them on, along with her jacket, once she found them. When she spun around, she nearly fell backwards into the chair that her things had been placed on last night, not expecting Jack to be standing so close behind her. 

“My lady,” He grinned, offering her his arm as she recovered. 

She wasted no time in slapping his arm away from her, choosing instead to cross her arms over her chest, “I’m not walking out of here on your arm,” She decided, knowing that the _last_ thing she wanted was for the crew to see her leaving the Captain’s cabin with Jack. 

He shrugged in response, “You’ve got to leave at one point or another,” Jack commented, his arm still offered to her. 

Isabella only huffed in response, marching over to the mirror that Jack had in the room so she could try to tie up her hair with the bandana that she pulled out of her pocket, taking to Jack over her shoulder, “Why don’t you go out, tell me if anyone’s out there and at least try to be a gentleman for once and spare my dignity?” She suggested, hoping that he might actually bother to listen to her. 

Once she had her hair tied up she was surprised to see that Jack had actually listened to her and had stepped outside the cabin, ducking his head back in when she’d just finished with the little knot she made at the base of her head, “You’re all clear,” He told her, sending a quick wink her way. 

With a sneer in his direction, she marched over towards the door, prepared to push past him, but at the last second she realized that she was absolutely _not_ all clear like he said, there was plenty of his men on the deck, thankfully none of them noticing the horribly awkward situation of Isabella quickly ducking back into Jack’s cabin before anyone could see her. 

She wasted no time in fisting a hand into his jacket and pulling him back inside with her, letting the door shut behind him, “That’s not all clear!” She hissed, looking up at Jack with wide eyes. 

He was grinning at her, clearly unphased by her accusation, “Chin up luv, you’re leaving the _Captain’s_ quarters,” With one of his hands he reached up and grasped her chin, tilting her face up to meet his a bit better. 

Isabella wasted no time in slapping his hand away from her, “Yes and I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea from me leaving the Captain’s quarters,” She mocked, “Just go give them something to do for a minute,” She decided, her grip on his jacket tightening. 

She really should’ve been more focused on Jack rather than how to get herself out of the situation he’d forced her into at the moment, because as soon as he noticed that she was slightly distracted, he used her grip on his jacket to pull her forward, slinging an arm around her waist as he reached back to open the door behind him, “Don’t worry about my crew luv, if anyone gives you any troubles you send them my way,” Before she even knew what was going on, Jack was pulling her straight out of his cabin, out onto the deck where anyone could see them. 

As soon as the two of them were outside, Isabella wrenched herself out of Jack’s grip, not wanting the situation to seem any worse than it actually was, “I’ll have to decline,” She muttered, purposely striding away from him, and feeling thankful that he didn’t follow after her. 

When she realized that she was finally alone, Isabella slipped below deck to tend to her hand for the first time since she hurt it on the cannibal island. Unwrapping her palm, she was pleased to realize that the burns didn’t look as bad as she thought they would’ve, and she was quick to use some water to clean up the skin best she could, picking at some of the peeling skin so she could wrap it up nice and neatly again. 

Struggling to wrap her hand up with only one good hand to do the work, she didn’t even notice Will approaching, until he took a seat next to her on the crate, “What happened to your hand?” He asked, thoroughly startling her. 

Isabella’s head shot to the side, honestly expecting Jack to have been the one to sneak up on her like that, and immediately relaxing once she realized it was Will, “Burnt it back on the island with the cannibals,” She explained, still fumbling as she tried to wrap her hand up. 

Will was quick to pull her hand into his lap, pulling the bandage out of her other hand as he began to wrap it up for her, “I was looking for you this morning,” He commented as he made sure her hand was securely wrapped. 

Immediately, she felt her face heat up, unsure what she was supposed to say to him, but knowing she definitely didn’t want to admit to having to bunk with Jack, “I’ve been around, don’t know why we didn’t run into each other,” She said with a shrug, hoping that he wouldn’t see through her lie. 

Tying off her hand with a quick knot, Will shrugged in response, “I must have missed you,” He commented, “I just wanted to know what you’re thoughts about Jack are,” He asked after a moment. 

Of course Will had to ask her about him, she really couldn’t get a break, but she supposed it made sense, “I trust him,” She said, almost surprising herself at how quickly she was able to answer him, “I mean, it’s Jack, he’s probably going to try to screw us over but I think in the end he’ll try to help us get Elizabeth’s freedom,” She elaborated, not wanting Will to get the wrong idea. 

She was sure she sounded a little paranoid, but she couldn’t help herself, someone definitely had to see her leaving Jack’s cabin this morning, and the last thing she wanted was for anyone on the crew to get the wrong idea and for that wrong idea to spread through the rest of the crew, and the last person she wanted to know about her nighttime rendez-vous was Will! 

Thankfully, he only nodded in response, getting back to his feet, “You’re sure we can get the compass from him after this?” He asked after a moment of silence between the two of them. 

This was something that Isabella didn’t want to admit she was sure of because she didn’t know the implications behind her knowing that Jack would give her the compass if she asked, “Yes, I know we can,” She decided on confessing after a moment, “We’ll just have to deal with his situation first,” She groaned. 

It didn’t take long before they could hear Jack spouting off orders again, telling his crew what to do and where they were going, sounding like he no longer wanted to be anywhere near land, which was strange behavior for him. Isabella could only assume that this was because of his desire to find Davy Jones and get the key from him, hopefully the kraken wouldn’t catch them on the way. 

It was obvious to her that Jack was excited, he was running around shouting orders at his crew like there was no tomorrow, like nothing else mattered to him, and he was forcing his crew to work very diligently to get his ship up and moving again. She watched as he took control of the wheel, pulling out his compass as the Pearl started off towards the horizon again, the island behind them becoming smaller and smaller. 

Now that she knew what his compass was actually capable of, it made much more sense to her why Beckett wanted it, and she couldn’t help but to be even more curious about it. Hearing that the compass came from Tia Dalma made sense after meeting the mysterious woman, but she didn’t know why she would give it to Jack of all people! Every time she learned more about that man she became more and more curious about him, and she didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing. 

She also couldn’t help but wonder how the compass worked when you didn’t know what you wanted, especially after Tia Dalma implied that Jack didn’t know what he wanted, even though he always seemed to know what he wanted, she made a mental note to herself, promising that she would bring that up to him later. 

But at the moment, she was being left alone to help out with the work on the ship, and that was all she could do at the moment, not wanting to get dragged into anything else with Jack or Will at the moment, hoping that wherever Jack was taking them, it would help them get to Davy Jones faster and secure the key for him so he could finally help them get Elizabeth back. She only hoped that things would go smoothly from here on out, but with Jack guiding them, she wasn’t sure if she could expect anything to go smoothly. 


	11. Chapter 11

The trip to finding Davy Jones’ ship went as how they all should’ve expected it to go. About an hour out from their stop at Tia Dalma’s, it started raining very hard, with no sign of it slowing down in their future, but Jack wasn’t stepping down from the helm so they were all forced to keep working, mainly so the ship didn’t suffer through the storm! 

Isabella found herself given charge of the ropes once more, the one particular skill having stuck with her from the last time she had been on this ship and that was all that anyone thought she could deal with at the moment, and she was willing to work with that for now. But with the winds picking up and the rain hitting her face she was starting to get downright exhausted, everyone looked like there were getting tired too, but they all had to push through it. 

She had almost been run into several times at this point too, the crew seemed to forget that she was there most of the time, and on top of her fighting to keep her footing from the storm, she was also fighting to not get knocked over every five seconds, it was getting more and more frustrating as time went on. 

There were times on Port Royale that she thought she missed being on the Pearl, but the moments like these made her realize that she missed being home, this weather was just so obscene! 

Once she had all of her ropes tied down, she gave herself a moment to breathe, leaning heavily against the mast as she looked over her handiwork to make sure nothing would come loose, not that she could be sure because it was becoming that much harder to see through the thick rain that was falling down on them, especially as the sun began to set. 

Her break was cut short when she noticed Will struggling to carry a larger crate up towards the ship’s hull and she was quick to run over to him to attempt to help him, “Here,” She shouted over the storm, the two of them maneuvering awkwardly up the stairs. 

When they set the crate down, Isabella couldn’t help but let her eyes drift over to Jack, who was still focused on steering the ship, not bothering to shout any more orders since he would barely be heard over the roaring winds anymore. 

She was taken out of her stupor when Will grabbed her by the arm, “Do you need to go below?” He asked, squinting to see her through the rain. 

Immediately, she shook her head at him, “I’m okay, I think I’ll keep helping while I can!” She shouted back, hoping he’d agree with her for now. 

Will nodded in response and went back down the stairs, taking two of them at a time to run off and help with something else at the moment. Isabella allowed herself to let out a deep sigh before running after him, just trying to be as useful as possible while they needed all the help they could get. 

She didn’t know how long they worked for, or how long the rain went on for, but eventually the sun went down and the winds died out and it was just the rain that they were fighting now, but thankfully the seas had calmed down quite a bit, and Jack had finally given up the wheel to Gibbs. 

Isabella had found herself by Gibbs eventually, letting herself get a little rest as she watched him steer the ship, the rain still coming down hard on her face, but not bothering her as much as before. Her eyes were scanning the horizon for anything she could see, Gibbs had mentioned that Jack thought that they were getting closer and if it wasn’t dark and rainy, she would’ve climbed up the crow’s nest, but for now she just tried to sit as high as possible and keep her eyes peeled for anything unusual. 

“What’s that?” She asked, spotting something on the horizon, it looked like a broken up ship, but she couldn’t be sure. 

Gibbs glanced over at where she was looking, but his eyesight wasn’t as good as hers and he offered her a shrug in response, “Might want to ask Jack, lass, could be what we’re looking for,” She sighed at his answer, she should’ve known he would want her to go talk to Jack about it, but she wouldn’t be surprised if Jack already saw what she was looking at. 

Still, she went off to find the Captain anyways, hoping that the sooner they figured out where the Dutchman was, the sooner Jack would hand his compass over. She did a quick sweep of the ship, not seeing Jack anywhere, but she did manage to snag Will just when she spotted Gibbs and Jack now talking up at the wheel. 

“I think we should go talk to Jack,” She muttered, briefly pointing out what she spotted to Will before the two of them ran back to Jack’s side, ready to hear what he had to think about it. 

Mr. Gibbs and Jack were quick to stop talking to each other once they were joined by Isabella and Will, Jack’s attention immediately turned to the two of them, but before he could even open his mouth to speak, Will had cut him off, “That’s the Flying Dutchman?” He asked, pointing out towards the wreckage they were floating a good distance away from now. 

Isabella frowned, she never told Will that was the Dutchman, from the stories she’d heard about the infamous ship, she would never have expected that to be it, but Gibbs started to nod at Will’s declaration, and Jack grimaced as his gaze went back out towards the wrecked ship in the distance. 

“Doesn’t look like much,” Will continued, frowning as he stared down the wreckage. 

Isabella took a step closer to Will, not liking where this conversation was going, “Will-” She began, only to be cut off by Jack before she could say anything else. 

“Neither do you… don’t underestimate her,” Jack warned him as he elbowed Gibbs in the side. 

She had no clue what was going on, clearly Jack and Gibbs knew something that her and Will didn’t, and she wasn’t going to let Jack drag her into anything crazy again without her knowing exactly what was going on! 

“Must’ve run afoul on the reef,” Gibbs said, still squinting so he could see the ship in the distance. 

Jack suddenly spun around to face Will, “What’s your plan?” He asked, the corners of his lips turning up ever so slightly. 

Isabella couldn’t help but frown, she had no clue what was going on, and now even Will seemed in on the information and she only felt left out at the moment, “What plan?” She couldn’t help but ask. 

Of course, she was ignored by the three men as Will began to talk again, “I row over, search the ship until I find your bloody key,” He explained. 

Her jaw dropped, clearly Will and Jack had spoken about this without her being there, and they had made plans without her, even though she thought that she was part of this whole plan as well, but none of the man seemed privy to include her in the conversation that was going on right now, choosing to blatantly ignore her at the moment. 

Jack nodded, “And if there are crewmen?” He prodded. 

Will’s hand tightened around his sword, “I’ll cut down anyone in my way,” He grit out before marching away from Jack, Gibbs, and Isabella. 

“I like it, simple, easy to remember,” Jack shrugged, turning to follow after Will. 

Finally, Isabella felt like she had an opening to go after Jack, not wanting to be left behind, if anything, she was planning to get on that boat with Will to search the Dutchman for Jack’s key, this was for her sister after all, “Oy!” She called out to Jack’s retreating back, “You owe me an explanation!” She said. 

Jack paused and let her catch up to him, turning to face her, “Do I?” He countered. 

She huffed as she caught up to him, maybe it would’ve been easier for her to go after Will in this situation, but it was infinitely easier for her to yell at Jack if it came to that, “Yes, when did you two decide that Will was going to go on the Dutchman without me?” She asked, not bothering to beat around the bush. 

He wasted no time in spinning on his heel and walking away from her, heading back over towards Will, “Darling, you’re not getting on that ship,” He decided. 

She glared at his back, ignoring the pet name for the time being and wasting no time in following after him, ready to keep shouting at him, “Who are you to decide that?” She called after him, not caring who heard the two of them arguing at that point. 

Jack shook his head, “Wasn’t my decision, it was his,” He pointed towards Will just as Will climbed over the side of the Pearl, heading down to a small dinghy by himself. 

Without hesitating, Isabella made to follow after him, preparing to haul herself over the railing of the boat, but Jack was quick to stop her from following after Will, wrapping his arms around her before she could even get close to leaning over the edge and pulling her behind him as he leant over to shout down to Will, “Oy! If you do get captured, just say Jack Sparrow sent you to settle his debt! Might save your life!” Isabella managed to wrench herself out of his grip just in time to watch Will start to row himself away from the Pearl, and with the water so choppy from the storm, there was no way she’d be able to catch him, not that she was the best swimmer to begin win. 

“Move on out!” Ragetti called down to Will, who didn’t bother looking back at the Pearl. 

Isabella spun around to stare furiously at Jack, but he wasn’t even looking at her as he turned to Gibbs, “Douse the lamps,” He ordered, his crew quickly jumping into action. 

“Jack!” She demanded, not wanting him to walk away from her again without her getting the chance to figure out what he just dragged Will into, “What is he doing?” 

Thankfully, Jack decided that he would keep her satisfied at the moment, “He’s holding up his end of the bargain and getting me my key,” He answered, “And if you wouldn’t mind keeping your voice down…” He muttered, pulling out his telescope so he could watch Will board the ship.

“Keep my voice down?” She demanded. Now she knew that this had to be something bad Jack had gotten Will involved in, they had to be quiet and douse the lights so Davy Jones wouldn’t know they were there, this was just all too suspicious, “That’s not the Dutchman, is it?” She demanded, talking directly into Jack’s ear as he attempted to ignore her by watching Will. 

He was quick to drop the telescope and turn to her, “That shipwreck is how I’m going to get my key, and that key is how you’re going to save your sister, young William agreed to go and I agreed to let him go, he’s committed to saving your dearest Elizabeth and who am I to stop him?” He asked, cocking his head down at her. 

“She’s  _ my _ sister and you stopped me from going with Will, how is that any different?” She demanded, not seeing Jack’s logic behind the whole situation. 

Of course he had an answer for her right away, when didn’t he know exactly what he was going to say, “You would’ve been much too reckless, better to keep you on the Pearl Izzy,” He shrugged, pulling the telescope back up to his eye. 

She looked out to see if she could see Will in the distance at all, but the wreckage was too far away for her to make out anything useful, “If I’m too reckless then after we save my sister perhaps you should just drop me off at the nearest port, I wouldn’t mind,” She muttered, rolling her eyes in a very unladylike manner as she did so. 

It looked like Jack was going to answer her, but before he had a chance to say anything the strangest thing that Isabella had ever seen happened right in front of her eyes. Right before Jack, a very odd looking man  _ literally  _ emerged from the side of the ship, getting right up in Jack’s face. Isabella went to scream, but just as Jack lowered his telescope and shouted himself, she was being pulled backwards a slimy, wet arm crossing over her chest to pull her back against a cold body, something sharp being thrust against her throat to keep her from shouting or fighting back. 

It didn’t take her long to figure out that all of the members of the Black Pearl were now being held back with swords at their throats, and it only made her want to freak out more when she realized that the men that had infiltrated their ship weren’t quite… human? It was only when she noticed who was standing in front of Jack that she really realized what was going down. 

“You have a debt to pay!” The man obviously had to be Davy Jones, sure there were no pictures of him, but who else would be the Captain of the Flying Dutchman? Sure some of these men holding their crew back looked pretty brawny, but as Davy Jones backed up Jack further onto his own ship it only became more clear how much power he held, “You’ve been Captain of the Black Pearl for thirteen years. That was our agreement!” He cursed, still approaching Jack, the tentacles hanging from his chin squirming slightly as he walked. 

Isabella was sure she’d never seen anything like him before, and would never see anything like him ever again! But, then again, she had never thought that she was going to see undead pirates in the last year, and now there was this, it just seemed that whenever she traveled with Jack the most peculiar events happened to them. 

Jack held up his hands as he backed up, shoving his telescope back onto his belt, “Technically, I was only Captain for two years, then I was viciously mutinied upon,” He explained, his eyes briefly shooting over towards Isabella. 

She blanched when they made eye contact, not knowing why he would look at her out of all people, but she didn’t realize that she had tried to move forward slightly and at the movement, the sword at her throat was shoved further into her body, most likely nicking her neck as she hissed at the pressure. 

Isabella was almost  _ positive _ that Jack’s eyes flashed black before his attention was captured by Davy Jones again, “Then you were a poor Captain, but a Captain nonetheless! Have you not introduced yourself all these years as Captain Jack Sparrow?” He laughed, his crew quick to join in with their laughter. 

Jack was quick to nod in agreement, pointing out towards the wreckage he’d sent Will out towards a moment ago, “Yeah, I gave you payment! One soul to serve your ship is already over there,” He said, motioning towards the Dutchman, which Isabella now spotted behind the wreckage, looking much more magnificent than she would’ve expected. 

She would’ve been caught up in looking at the Dutchman if it wasn’t for Jack confessing to abandoning Will, which was a problem in itself, but on the other hand with Will stuck over there that meant they’d never get the key and Jack would never hand over the compass and Will couldn’t hand deliver the compass to Beckett, since that was something she definitely didn’t want to do, but she supposed if it came down to it she would return for Elizabeth’s life, it just wasn’t their plan! And Jack knew that this was going to happen, he told Will what to say! She just felt so stupid for trusting him in the first place, of course he was just trying to find a way to save himself and square his debt, and now that that was over, there was no way she was going to stay onboard any longer than she needed to, if anything, she was going to try to get Will back and steal the compass from Jack. 

But her thought process was cut short very quickly, the events happening on board right in front of her were too much, she couldn’t think about the future at the moment, “One soul does not equal another,” Jones hissed back. 

Jack was quick to clasp his hands together, smiling widely, “Aha! So we’ve established my proposal is sound in principle, now we’re just haggling over price,” He grinned, looking around his ship as if he was looking for his crew members that he could consider expendable. 

“Price?” Jones countered. 

“Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?” Jack asked, clearly having some strange plan in mind. 

Jones was quick to take another step forward, “One hundred souls. Three days,” He proposed, a grin stretching out over his face. 

Jack shrugged, sending another look at Isabella before turning back to Jones, “You’re a daring mate, send me back the boy, I’ll get started right off!” He bargained, sounding much too pleased with himself as he spun around to walk away from Jones, but was quickly cut off by one of Jones’ men with a strange shard head. 

“I keep the boy,” Jones began, continuing to stalk towards Jack, “A good faith payment, that leaves you only ninety-nine to go!” He laughed. 

Thankfully, Jack seemed like he was actually willing to fight for Will now, and Isabella hoped that this was actually the case, “Have you not met Will Turner?” He asked, cocking his head to the side, “He’s noble, heroic, a terrific soprano. Worth at least four- maybe three and a half. And did I happen to mention… he’s in love,” Jack was grinning, clearly trying to get under Jones’ skin, “With a girl, due to be married. Betrothed. Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half as cruel as allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony, aye?” He asked, slowly getting closer to Jones. 

Isabella was surprised to see Jones spin around to look at her, clearly assuming she was the one he was in love with, which she was happy was  _ not _ the case, and the pirate’s eyes narrowed at her, “He keeps his betrothed aboard?” Jones asked, still glaring at Isabella. 

Jack was quick to sidestep in front of her, cutting off her view of the intimidating Captain, “This one’s not his, she’s his keeper, makes sure the boy stays loyal, good idea if you ask me-” Jack began to ramble, only getting cut off by Jones taking a threatening step towards him. 

“I keep the boy,” He demanded, turning back around to face Jack, “Ninety-nine souls! But I wonder, Sparrow… can you live with this? Can you condemn an innocent man- a friend- to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free?” He demanded, assuming he’d thrown Jack a loop. 

“Yep,” Jack said, not to anyone’s surprise, “I’m good with it. Shall we seal it in blood, I mean, uh, ink?” He asked, holding out a hand to Jones. 

Jones was quick to surge forward, clasping Jack’s hand in his, his slimy tentacles slithering halfway up Jack’s arm as he shook on it, “Three days,” Jones repeated once more, retreating back to the Dutchman, his crew following. 

As soon as Isabella was released and the sword at her throat was pulled away, she ripped the bandana from her hair and held it up to her most likely bloody neck, hoping that she wouldn’t get an infection of any kind from the pirate’s sword, tying the bandana around her neck as a kind of scarf. 

“Uh, Mr. Gibbs,” Jack called, staring down at his hand. 

“Aye?” The older man asked. 

“I feel sullied and unusual,” He muttered, still staring at his slimy hand. 

Gibbs cleared his throat, “And how do we intend to harvest these ninety-nine souls in three days?” He asked. 

As she finished with tying the bandana around her neck she could practically hear the grin in Jack’s voice, “Fortunately, he was mum as the condition in which these souls need be,” He said. 

“Ah, Tortuga!” Gibbs exclaimed. 

Isabella looked up just in time to watch Jack wipe his hand over Gibbs’ vest, “Tortuga,” he agreed. 

When Jack walked away, it hit Isabella all at once, Will was gone, aboard the Dutchman, and there was no  _ way _ that Jack was planning on saving Will at any point in his attempt to get these poor ninety-nine people to settle his debt. And if that was the case then there was no way she could justify staying aboard the Pearl with a Captain that bartered away lives like that, she supposed she would try to steal the compass when they got to Tortuga and get back to Beckett on her own, there would probably be ships from Tortuga that would be willing to bring her back to Port Royale, and it was worth a shot for Elizabeth. 

It was all just a lot to figure out, she had no clue why Jack would betray them like that, he had no reason to, he didn’t have to trade Will’s life, and to not let her go with him, she just couldn’t understand why! She didn’t really care to confront him about it either, but she knew she had to, at least to try to get the compass from him without having to steal it from him, but she really didn’t want to. 

Jack had ordered them to make port as soon as they could, claiming that they’d get to Tortuga in the morning, and she decided she’d corner him when they were able to let their anchor down, hoping that most of the crew would decide to get some sleep. Thankfully, it didn’t take longer than an hour for the Pearl to drop anchor, and soon after the men on the ship were moseying down to their quarters, clearly exhausted from the day’s events. 

Isabella’s eyes were narrowed on Jack as he stood near the wheel, and she sighed, not having anything she wanted to say planned, but deciding to jump straight into it, “Jack,” She called out, climbing up the stairs to meet him, “I think we need to talk,” She decided, hoping he wouldn’t decide to jump ship as soon as she approached him. 

However, that wasn’t the case, a large smile spread across his face at the sight of her, his arms held out wide to greet her, “Ah darlin’, are ye looking for yer bunkmate?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. 

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but she decided to brush it off for now, hoping that she’d be able to get him to give her the compass and she could be on her way, “No, believe it or not,” She grimaced, “Now that you used Will to save yourself, I’d like your compass,” She asked, holding her hand out to him. 

The smile on his face didn’t waver as he let his arms drop, his one hand fiddling with his compass that was attached to his belt, “Clearly you weren’t listening, Jonesie hasn’t given up on me yet, we need to get our ninety-nine souls first, luv,” He said, sauntering closer to her. 

Isabella was quick to let her hand fall to her side, backing up with every step he took forward until her back hit the railing of the stairs, “ _ We _ don’t need anything, you need them, and after Tortuga, I’ll be going back to Port Royale,” She confessed. 

Jack almost seemed taken aback at this, “That’s not going to get your sister free, luv,” He promised, unclasping his compass but still keeping it close to his chest. 

She completely blanched, how dare he try to threaten her with her sister’s freedom, she had no clue he would stoop so low. But before she could berate him, a thought hit her, she did still have one ace up her sleeve, and even though she hadn’t wanted to play it before, she knew that she would do anything for Elizabeth, “I think you’re forgetting something, Captain, I still have something Beckett wants,” She teased, not being able to stop herself from playing with him a little bit, since she always played with other people. 

Jack frowned at that, “Beckett won’t renegotiate, once you go back you’ll never leave,” He countered immediately. 

She raised her chin, not planning on backing down just yet, “Beckett wants me and your compass, one for Elizabeth, one for yourself, I’m sure won’t mind if I give up your freedom for Elizabeth’s,” She decided, for a split second feeling like she was a little too harsh, but she was quick to remember that he had literally just given up Will’s life for his own, “... So unless you want to give me your compass I have nothing else to say,” She finished. 

He cocked his head to the side, and Isabella swore that this was the longest she’d ever heard him stay silent for, “I see, this is because the whelp isn’t with us anymore, yes?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

She wanted to shout at him for being so dense, of course that’s why she was upset, but she managed to stop herself from just shouting at him, “Yes, because you traded him to Davy Jones,” She accused. 

Jack still managed to seem cool with the whole situation, walking over to the nearest railing and staring out over the sea, leaving her to follow after him until they were both standing side by side at the railing, “You don’t expect him to be able to save himself while getting the key we need?” He asked. 

Isabella paused, maybe Jack had thought this through a bit more thoroughly than she had realized. Will wouldn’t stop until he got that key, not knowing about Isabella’s deal with Beckett, and wanting to do anything to get Elizabeth free, she had no doubt in her mind that he’d be able to do that and return to Jack when he did, he seemed to be much more capable than she gave him credit for, “You knew from the beginning, didn’t you?” She asked after gathering her thoughts. 

Jack turned to face her, leaning halfway on the railing as he grinned down at her, “I warned Jones, don’t underestimate him,” His eyes were practically twinkling in the moonlight, and a part of her couldn’t be swayed to look away. 

She had to give Jack a lot more credit than she originally did, a moment ago she was more than willing to walk straight into Beckett’s arms, but now, there might’ve been more to his plan than she thought, “He’ll get the key for Elizabeth,” She mumbled, unsure if she wanted Jack to know that she was conceding to him. 

If it were possible, his grin grew even bigger, and he brought his hand up to wrap a finger around a strand of her hair, “Ye of little faith,” He teased, tugging at her hair slightly. 

Isabella didn’t like how friendly Jack was being with her, of course he had always acted a little odd, but she always chalked it up to him being a pirate, but she couldn’t help but feel like this was different than how he’d acted with her the entire last year, but she couldn’t put her finger on what exactly bothered her about it, but she was definitely bothered by it. He was just a bit too casual with her, and from sharing a bed with him last night, which she promised herself she wouldn’t do again, to all of his constant touches, she didn’t know what to think, and she wanted to end it now before anything was taken too far. After all, she was technically betrothed, and even thought she wasn’t planning on returning to Beckett, a part of her was contemplating Jack’s idea of her staying on the Pearl, which is why this needed to end sooner rather than later. 

She moved her hand to brush his away from her hair, but Jack was faster, catching her hand and bringing it down to the railing they were leaning up against, his free arm coming around her shoulders and practically pinning her against the railing with him pressed up against her from behind, “I need you to trust me, darling,” He continued, his breath hitting her ear as he spoke. 

A shiver ran down her spine at their proximity, but she couldn’t find it in herself to shove him off of her, with Will gone her one source of companionship was gone too, and a part of her wanted to revel in the comfort Jack was giving her at the moment, and it almost felt familiar to her. 

Isabella stood still in his grasp, her mind running a mile a minute as she tried to figure out what would be best. On one hand, she could continue with her individual plan, for her to leave the Pearl as soon as they got to Tortuga and hand herself over to Beckett for Elizabeth, but then there was her second option now, for her to  _ actually _ trust Jack, and hope that Will could find the key, saving herself in the process. 

One thing was for sure though, she didn’t like how quickly Jack had taken over the situation, maybe it was him trying to get back at her for when she cornered him in his cabin the other day, but whatever it was, she wanted to try and turn it around on him before things went any further. Without putting much thought into it, she spun around, pressing her back up against the railing and causing Jack to fall further forward, his arms catching himself on either side of her body, causing him to have to look down at her. 

“It’s hard to trust someone when they always seem to want to betray you, Jack,” She countered, bringing her hands up to rest on his chest, but not quite pushing him away, only keeping him far enough away from her to where she still felt comfortable in her power play. 

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he came back to his senses, “Never you, luv,” Jack promised, his one hand coming off the railing to move back to her hair. 

Isabella had to hold back her scoff at that, sure he always seemed to come back in the end, but the last year he had them pretty sure that he betrayed them with the undead pirates, and he did just bargain Will away, “Can you prove it to me?” She asked, still keeping her head high. 

Jack’s grin slipped from his face and he frowned, his fingers stilling in her hair, “And how do ye propose I do that?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow down at her. 

She hadn’t expected Jack to ask her that, she assumed that he would be quick to come up with an answer for her, like he always did, but now that he was offering this to her, she wasn’t quite sure what to say, “You’re the one who wants my trust, you’ll have to figure it out,” She decided, hoping that he would actually be able to come up with something that would work for her. 

He took a moment, his fingers twirling around his beard before he seemed to come up with an idea, “Right, I will gift you this,” He said after a moment, releasing her from the circle of his arms so he could pull a section of his hair out towards her, one that was covered with beads. 

“One of your hair beads?” She asked, looking skeptical as Jack started to fiddle with the beads. 

He shook his head, finally releasing a little bit of string attached to a shiny, silver coin, holding it out to her, “This,” He offered, letting her inspect the little coin. 

Hesitantly, Isabella took the string the coin was attached to, taking her time to make sure what Jack was giving her was actually something of value, “A silver coin?” She asked, still sounding a little unsure of what he was giving her. 

Jack was quick to hold up a finger, his mouth falling open briefly as he decided what to say, “Not just any coin,  _ this _ , my dear, is a piece of eight,” He hesitated a moment before confessing to her what the item meant to him. 

She paused, the coin held in front of her seeming much more valuable now,she had heard stories about pirate lords and pieces of eight, and even though she traveled with pirates now, she didn’t think that these were actually a thing. But, if it really was what he said it was, she supposed it would make sense if it was a piece of eight, she wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Jack had ended up with one, or to learn that he kept it so close to him at all times, and if it really was what he said it was, then she would definitely consider trusting him for now, “You’re joking,” She said, narrowing her eyes up at him, trying to decide if he was telling her the truth or not. 

He held up his hands, looking like a picture of innocence, “Honest, you hold onto that until William makes his heroic return,” Jack instructed. 

Isabella hesitated, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to trust herself with something so important, an honest part of her was scared she’d lose it, and she didn’t want to have to deal with that if anything came down to it, “This is too much,” She muttered, trying to pass it back to him. 

Jack was quick to wave his hands around, clearly not taking it back, “Nonsense,” He decided, spinning around and linking his arm through Isabella’s pulling her forward, “I’ll find ye a nice place for it,” Isabella was so caught up in the legend of the pieces of eight that she found herself at a stand still, not even realizing that Jack had managed to pull her into his cabin yet again, until he was pushing on her shoulders to shove her down onto a small chair. 

He snatched the coin from her and before she knew what was going on, Jack’s hands were in her hair, starting to braid some strands together, “What are you doing?” She asked, keeping her head forward so he wouldn’t tug too harshly at her hair. 

“Making sure you don’t lose my piece,” He muttered back in response, not pausing at his work on her hair. 

Immediately, her face flushed bright red, the situation all too strange for her, “I didn’t know you could braid,” She murmured, hoping that Jack wouldn’t see the red that was spreading across her cheeks. 

“Aye,” He agreed, reaching up into his own hair to pull some beads free, slipping them onto the short braid before tying in the silver coin into the braid. 

Once he was done, Isabella was quick to reach up and pull at the braid and coin, making sure neither of them would fall out. Then she turned to Jack, he was grinning at her, and she could easily tell where his hair was missing the few beads that he sacrificed to her, “Alright Jack,” She said after a moment of inspecting the hair piece, “I’ll trust you, unless you give me a reason not to,” She promised, holding her hand out to him so they could shake in agreement. 

Jack was quick to clasp her smaller hand in his larger one, shaking it vigorously, “Great! Now that that’s settled, perhaps we should call it a night,” He offered, using his grip on her hand to practically tug her over towards the bed in the middle of the room. 

“Jack!” She squeaked, falling hard onto the bed, shooting up to watch Jack quickly walk over to his door and shut the two of them inside, “I’m not tired,” She immediately argued, getting to her feet. 

He was quick to spin back around to face her, still standing in front of the door, “What the Captain says goes,” He responded, walking towards where she stood in the middle of the room. 

Isabella crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting this to become a regular nighttime rendez-vous between the two of them, “I fell asleep last night because I was  _ tired _ ,” She insisted, “I’m not tired, I’m not staying here,” If she knew anything, she knew that she was not going to back down as easily this time around. 

Jack seemed to think about it for a moment, “You trust me, how am I supposed to trust that if you’re out there you’re not just going to back to Port Royale and take my piece with you? I think I’m going to have to keep my eye on ye,” He said with a shrug. 

She narrowed her eyes at him, “I wouldn’t do that,” She argued back, not liking where this conversation was going, “And I’ve never given you a reason to not trust me like you have!” She was quick to accuse. 

He nodded, wrinkling his nose as he stared at her, “Stay and I’ll trust you,” He said, cocking his head to the side. 

Isabella huffed, not wanting to be dragged into this again, but maybe if she just agreed, she would make it clear that this was the last night, and that she didn’t want him to touch her this time around, then she could probably deal with it. 

“Only tonight?” She clarified, wanting to make sure she wasn’t about to make a bad deal with him. 

Jack immediately made an ‘x’ over his heart, “I’ll swear on it,” He offered, grinning as he did so. 

Isabella frowned at him, but purposefully marched over to the bed either way, “Fine, just for tonight, but you’re not allowed to touch me,” She decided, wasting no time in pushing her nerves away and laying down on her side of the bed. 

Jack was quick to lay down next to her, slipping under the sheet with ease, “Can’t make any promises, luv,” He said, shifting around next to her. 

She was thankful she turned her body so she wasn’t looking at him, because she didn’t want to see the look on his face as he teased her, so instead she groaned and pulled an arm over her head, trying to get comfortable, “Goodnight,” She groaned, hoping that would be the end of that, and thankfully, before she knew it, she was falling asleep. 

* * *

Jack had somehow managed to convince Isabella to come with the crew to the nearest tavern to start recruiting souls for Davy Jones, even though that was the  _ last  _ thing she wanted to be involved it. But of course, Jack always managed to get his way, claiming that to get his compass, she’d need to help him get his freedom and the only way he’d be going back to Jones’ ship was if he had enough men to bargain over to Jones, so reluctantly, she found herself walking down the hectic streets of Tortuga with Jack walking next to her. 

The last time she was here with Will it didn’t feel as crazy as it did this time around, maybe there was something to celebrate, but whatever it was, she was sure that she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. 

“Where are we going?” Isabella asked, having to slightly quicken her pace in order to keep up with his slightly longer legs. 

Before Jack even had a chance to answer, Isabella found herself almost running straight into a larger woman who was carrying a massive mug, clearly drinking like the rest of the town, “Sorry!” Isabella squeaked, having to jump backwards into Jack to avoid crashing into her. 

Jack was quick to steady her, pulling her to his chest, each of his hands holding onto her biceps to keep her steady against his chest. Isabella was too distracted by the fact she nearly crashed into the woman to notice how Jack was hovering over her, but it became very apparent to her when the woman looked up to see Isabella first, then her eyes shifted to Jack, and then she let out the  _ loudest _ laugh Isabella had ever heard, turning away from the two of them immediately afterwards. 

Isabella had no clue how she kept getting into the most embarrassing situations whenever she was around Jack, but here she was, standing pressed up against him with a bright red face, “Oh no,” She muttered, not wanting to look at Jack. 

“What was that, Izzy?” He asked, leaning down as if to hear her better. 

She felt very warm as she carefully extracted herself from his grip, “Nothing, let’s just get this over with,” She was hoping she’d be able to hide her embarrassment from him, but it was too little too late, her declaration immediately letting him know she wasn’t very happy. 

When she started walking forward, Jack was quick to catch up to her in the middle of the busy streets, slinging his arm around her shoulders and steering her away from the crowd, “I agree, Mr. Gibbs should be waiting for us,” He said, pulling them straight up to a very crowded tavern. 

Once the two of them were inside, she realized that it was even more crowded than the streets had been, and despite her better judgement, she pulled out from underneath Jack’s arm to grab onto it instead, letting him guide her through the tavern. He seemed almost surprised at how willing she was to grab onto his arm but he brushed it off quickly, guiding her downstairs so they could meet up with Gibbs. 

He was sitting at a table, a piece of parchment on the table next to him, a small line of men standing a couple of feet away from him. Isabella made to sit down next to Gibbs, but Jack was quick to pull her back towards him, “Mr. Gibbs, where are we starting?” He asked, fiddling with one of his braids. 

“We were able to gather a few men willing to sign up, shall we start with the first?” He asked, gesturing towards the small line that had formed behind them. 

Jack nodded, “Aye, only ninety-nine to go!” He agreed, turning to Isabella again and leading her over to a smaller table in the corner of the room, the two of them sharing a bench as Jack kicked his feet up. 

She was happy that she didn’t have to sit there with Gibbs and recruit men to literally sign their lives away, but this wasn’t much better. Jack was quick to relax next to her, leaning into the wall and pulling out his compass to look over it while Isabella put her head in her hands and tried to not feel too horrible about what they were watching. 

With her ignoring the recruits, they were so secluded that the only thing left that she could distract herself with was whatever Jack was doing next to her. After watching the first man sign himself up, she leant back, pressing her back against the wall and glancing at Jack as he shook his compass. He did this a couple of times before opening the compass and looking down at it before snapping it closed and shaking it again, muttering almost incoherently under his breath. 

“So was she right?” She asked after watching him repeat the motion a couple of times. 

Jack paused, his head shooting to the side to look at her, “What?” He asked. 

She shifted so she could face him better, snatching his compass out of his hands and opening it herself so she could watch it spin a couple of times before pointing out into the distance, “Tia Dalma, she said you didn’t know what you wanted, was she right?” She asked, closing the compass as she passed it back to him. 

He frowned when he took the compass back from her, opening it and watching it spin around again before slamming it shut, “I know what I want,” He muttered, loud enough for her to hear this time before furiously shaking at the compass again. 

Isabella opened her mouth to speak, but before she had the chance to, Jack was shouting out to Mr. Gibbs, apparently not wanting to talk about the subject any longer, “How are we going?” Jack asked, still fiddling with the compass. 

Gibbs turned around in his chair to face the two of them, “Including those four?” He asked, looking fleetingly down at the paper, “That gives us… four.”    


She nearly snorted at how ridiculous this situation was, of course Jack wasn’t going to be able to trick ninety-nine people into signing onto his ship, that was an obscene amount of people, but here they were giving it their best shot, but she very purposefully looked away when another man approached Gibbs, not wanting to get attached to any of these hopefuls at any time before they’re sacrificed to Jones. 

Isabella turned back to Jack, ready to grill him a little bit more about the compass, but then she thought she heard a very familiar sounding voice somewhere in the tavern, causing her to immediately forget about Jack. Her head shot around, and immediately she caught herself staring at the man speaking with Mr. Gibbs, her eyes widening when she realized who she was staring at. 

Jack seemed to catch on too, straightening up slightly while Isabella turned to face him, “Is that-?” She began to ask in a whisper, but Jack was quick to cut her off. 

“Shush,” He warned, leaning his body behind hers so he was slightly hidden from Norrington. 

Isabella jolted slightly when she felt his beard tickle the back of her neck, “What are you doing?” She hissed, for some reason keeping her voice low so she wouldn’t blow his cover, even though she wouldn’t mind being able to talk to James, just to ask him what happened. 

Jack’s hands found her waist, pulling her further in front of him, and she had to stifle a squeak so she wouldn’t blow his cover. She could feel him breathing heavily against her neck, making her want to squirm around and draw attention to the two of them, but with his hands on her waist keeping her still, she didn’t know what to think of the situation, so she decided to focus on what James was saying. 

“Commodore?” Gibbs asked, staring wide eyed at the man, looking just as confused as Isabella felt. 

“No, not anymore, weren’t you listening?” James demanded, rolling his eyes at the older man, “I nearly had you all off Tripoli! I would’ve, if not for the hurricane,” He cursed. 

Jack was very squirmy behind her, and it was almost distracting, if it weren’t for James making an even bigger scene than Jack was, for the first time ever, “Lord,” Gibbs breathed, “You didn’t try to sail through it?” He demanded, eyes wide. 

James frowned at that remark, “So do I make your crew or not?” He demanded, sounding slightly intoxicated now, “You haven’t said where you’re going… somewhere nice!” Before Isabella knew what was going on, James had surged forward and flipped the table Gibbs was sitting at, sending Gibbs flying to the floor with it. 

Isabella would’ve ran forward to help Gibbs if it weren’t for Jack jerking the two of them to their feet, keeping himself pressed up behind Isabella as he started to inch away from the scene that James was causing, “So am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?” James continued to shout, just as Isabella and Jack made it halfway towards the stairs, “Or should I just kill you now?” Isabella had no clue what was going on, but in the next second, James had lifted his pistol up, without even looking and pointed it straight at  _ her _ . 

She gasped, and she was sure she would’ve been frozen in place if it weren’t for Jack suddenly pushing her out of the way, still keeping her in place next to him, but now staring down James’ gun, a sorry smile on his face. 

James finally looked over at the two of them, his eyes landing on Jack first, before wavering over to Isabella, the gun falling slightly as recognition passed over his face, but then he was back to Jack, his face hardening. 

“You’re hired!” Jack grinned, holding out his hands to James. 

James’ eyes flickered over to Isabella before he shrugged and turned to Jack again, “Sorry, old habits and all that,” She didn’t even have a second to think before everything happened all so quickly.

Isabella shot out her hand and grabbed Jack’s pulling him to the side just as two members of Jack’s crew surged forward and grabbed James, forcing his gun up, and James shot blindly at the ceiling, sending the entire bar into an absolute fit. Chaos broke out and thankfully, Jack took over, silently thanking her for pulling him out of the way with a squeeze to her hand, which was still tightly grasping his, before he started to tug her forward, bringing the two of them further into the commotion. 

She was so zoned out that she didn’t even realize Jack had dragged her straight over to where Gibbs was still recovering, “Time to go,” He ordered, offering his free hand to the older man to help pull him to his feet. 

“Aye,” Gibbs agreed, quick to follow Jack. 

Isabella was thankful for her grip on Jack’s hand, it was something she wasn’t planning on giving up anytime soon. She tried to keep as close to him as possible, wondering in the back of her mind how he could be so calm about the whole situation as he led their strange trio through the epic fight that had now broken out. 

Right before they reached the bottom of the stairs, Isabella felt her other hand get snagged by someone she couldn’t see and she let out a yelp, surprised to find herself being tugged away from Jack and practically straight into the arms of another man, who was grinning lecherously down at her. 

She grunted at the change in direction, but before Jack or Gibbs could do anything, she spun around in the stranger’s grip and pulled her knee up so it collided directly with his groin, causing the man to let her go immediately. 

A split second after she was released, she was being grabbed again from behind, and with a strangled groan, she spun around, prepared to knee another man, but when a hand shot down to stop her knee from flying up, she realized that Jack had managed to pull her back to his side. 

“Easy on the goods, luv,” He grinned, winking down at her. 

She didn’t know what to say in response, and thankfully she didn’t have to, because this time around, Jack grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her forward, keeping her directly in front of him as they made their way up the stairs. 

She didn’t know why she was the one that kept getting into trouble, but the second they started climbing the stairs, Jack made a quick move, pulling her backwards and causing her to stumble down a step into him just as a glass bottle shattered right where her head had just been. She shrieked and clung to Jack’s arms, which were wrapped around her again, as she watched the glass explode right in front of her. 

Her stupor didn’t last too long, Jack let go of her so he could lean down and pick up an old, discarded hat, plopping it down on his head and turning to face her, “How do I look?” He asked, tilting his head down so he was looking at her. 

She hesitated for a minute, still feeling slightly out of her wits after nearly getting killed, but then she shook her head, snapping out of it, “It doesn’t suit you,” She confessed. 

Jack nodded in agreement, choosing to keep it on as he propelled them forward again, a hand on the small of Isabella’s back pushing her forward until they reached the top of the stairs, pausing again so that Jack could switch hats with a much too drunk man standing off to the side, “Thanks, mate,” Jack grinned, giving the drunk a friendly slap on the shoulder, but somehow sending him tumbling over the edge of the railing instead. 

Isabella gaped at Jack, not knowing what to say, “What?” He demanded, furrowing his brow at her as he pushed his new hat further onto his head. 

She shook her head, not knowing what else to say and choosing instead to get out of the tavern as quickly as she possibly could. Just as they reached the doors, she was hesitating  _ again _ , nearly getting ran into by two men carrying a third, ready to throw him over the railing as well. Jack stepped forward, taking his newest hat off of his head and putting it on the third man’s, pulling Isabella back with him as he cleared the way for them to throw the man overboard, their own trio walking around the newest strange encounter, and finally escaping from the tavern. 

Sadly, the Tortuga streets weren’t that much better, but at least there was some breathing room for the three of them, but Isabella was more than happy to continue to let Jack guide her forward until they were back at the docks and closer to the Pearl. 

Once they reached the Pearl, Isabella decided to get some distance from Jack, reminding herself that she didn’t want to get too familiar with him, and thinking that everything that had happened in the past day only got her  _ closer _ to Jack, which was the exact opposite of what she wanted! 

Thankfully, there was a lot to be done on the Pearl, most of the crew was working on restocking the ship, and Isabella was quickly able to board the Pearl to help the crew find places to stock fresh water, food, and, according to Jack the most important commodity, rum. 

Once the work was done, Isabella leant over the edge of the railing to shout down to Gibbs or Jack that they’d finished, but she found herself at a loss for words when she realized that Jack was talking to an almost familiar slim figure. Not wasting any time, she clamored down the side of the ship, wanting to see who he was talking to, only hearing the tail end of their conversation before she realized what was going on. 

“...has been press-ganged into Davy Jones’ crew, and Izzy is still aboard the Pearl, perhaps I should give her a call, she might be thrilled to see you,” Jack trailed off, looking like he was about to book it out of there. 

Isabella was quick to look over his shoulder, not quite close enough yet for either of them to see her, but as soon as she could get a good look around Jack she knew that she was staring right at her sister. 

Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted when Isabella couldn’t contain herself any longer, “Elizabeth!” She cried, wasting no time in pushing past Jack to run into her sister’s arms. 

Her older sister’s attention was immediately captured by Isabella practically flinging herself at her, and the hug was instantly reciprocated, “Isabella?” Elizabeth was quick to cry back, almost as if she didn’t expect to see her here. 

Isabella pulled back to look over her sister, “Are you alright? How did you find us?” She demanded, having a million questions on her mind and knowing not all of them would be answered just yet. 

Before Elizabeth had the chance to answer, Jack was stepping up so he could look between the two of them, clasping a hand on each of their shoulders, “Look at that, a happy reunion!” He grinned, giving Isabella’s shoulder a quick squeeze. 

Her eyes immediately shot towards Jack, not too thrilled that he was butting in on their reunion, but Elizabeth didn’t quite feel the same way, “You said Will’s with Davy Jones,” She clarified, thinking of her fiance once more. 

Jack nodded, his hand slipping from Elizabeth’s shoulder, clearly looking for a good segue into telling her how he traded Will’s life for his own, but then someone else was quick to cut in. 

“Oh please, the Captain of the Flying Dutchman?” Isabella turned sharply to see James standing slightly behind Elizabeth, looking even worse than before and more than likely emptying his guts into the sea. 

Jack wrinkled his nose at the man, “You look bloody awful, what are you doing here?” He demanded. 

James rolled his eyes, slowly recovering as he climbed to his feet, “You hired me. I can’t help it if your standards are lax,” He groaned. 

Jack, who was now standing in between the two sisters, his one hand still on Isabella’s shoulder, took a half step back as James started to come closer, “You smell funny,” He countered, his nose still wrinkled. 

Isabella elbowed him quickly, “You’re one to talk,” She quickly argued, coming to James’ defense even thought he had a gun held in her face less than a few hours ago. 

“Oy!” Jack argued, looking offended. 

“All I want is to find Will!” Elizabeth quickly cut in. 

Jack seemed to almost come to life at that, Isabella could feel the energy that he was omitting at that moment, “Are you certain? Is that what you really want most?” He pressed, his free hand most certainly fiddling with his compass. 

Elizabeth nodded, “Of course,” She agreed, shooting Isabella an almost wary look. 

Jack was quick to take one look at Isabella before pulling her forward, using her to practically cut James off from their conversation, “Because I would think, you’d want to find a way to  _ save _ Will most,” He schemed, once more gaining control of the situation. 

Isabella didn’t even know how she was supposed to cut in and stop him from whatever he was trying to convince Elizabeth to do, she didn’t know where Jack was even going with this. But if she had any clue what was going on, she knew that some words from her weren’t going to change Jack’s plans in the slightest, and right now he really was Elizabeth’s only hope at finding Will. 

“And you have a way of doing that?” Isabella cut in, hoping that something she could say would at least sway Elizabeth’s decision a little bit. 

Jack shrugged, “Well, there is a chest,” He started to explain. 

“Oh, dear,” James groaned, moving back to lean over the edge of the dock as he listened into the conversation still. 

“A chest of unknown size and origin,” Jack continued, unphased by James’ bad luck. 

Pintel was quick to cut in then, “What contains the still beating heart of Davy Jones!” He exclaimed, startling Isabella who didn’t know he was  _ also _ listening in on their conversation, Ragetti next to him, miming a beating heart. 

Jack continued regardless, “And whoever possesses that chest, possesses the leverage to command Jones to do whatever it is he or she wants. Including saving brave William from his grim fate,” He finished, reeling Elizabeth in completely. 

Isabella almost wanted to roll her eyes at her sister, there was no doubt in her mind that there was a chest that held his heart, and that if they did manage to get the heart Davy Jones would have to listen to what they said, but how were they supposed to know that Jack would stick true to his word? Sure he promised her his trust, but this wasn’t a promise he was making to her, this was to her sister, it seemed like she was going to have to have yet another one on one with the captain. 

“You don’t actually believe him do you?” James groaned. 

Elizabeth’s eyes were filled with wonder, but before she could answer either man, she turned to Isabella, “What do you think?” She asked, narrowing her eyes skeptically up at Jack. 

Isabella felt Jack’s hand squeeze her shoulder once again, but there was silence from his end as she looked between the two of them, deciding that there was only one diplomatic response before she could talk to both of them on their own, “I trust him,” She confessed, mindlessly pushing her hair behind her ear, along with the braid that he made for her. 

Elizabeth nodded in response, “How do we find it?” She asked. 

The compass was held up in Elizabeth’s face immediately, “With this. My compass… is unique,” He explained. 

“Unique, here; having the meaning of broken,” James scoffed once more. 

Jack shrugged, “True enough, this compass does not point north,” He explained, sounding mysterious as ever. 

“Where does it point?” Elizabeth asked. 

“It points to the thing you want most in this world,” He grinned, holding out the compass to her sister. 

Elizabeth’s mouth fell open, “You’re not telling the truth,” She demanded, looking to Isabella now. 

She nodded in response, “He is, I’ve seen it,” Isabella answered. 

Jack was grinning widely now, “And what you want most in this world,” He paused to place the compass in Elizabeth’s hand, “Is to find the chest of Davy Jones, is it not?” He prodded. 

“To save Will,” Elizabeth clarified. 

He nodded again, “By finding the chest of Davy Jones,” He repeated, flipping open the compass in one quick motion and pulling Isabella backwards so Elizabeth could watch the needle spin for a moment. 

Jack finally let go of Isabella’s shoulder to step back up to Elizabeth, peering over the edge of the compass to see where it was pointing, his grin never faltering, “Mr. Gibbs!” He called out. 

“Captain?” Gibbs quickly responded. 

“We have our heading!” Jack exclaimed, straightening himself out, allowing Elizabeth to hold onto his compass. 

Gibbs sighed, sounding pleased with himself, “Finally! Cast off those lines, weigh anchor, and trough that canvas!” He began spouting off orders, and Jack’s men were quick to fall in line. 

Jack stepped to the side, dramatically sweeping his arm forward as he gestured for Elizabeth to board the Pearl, “Ms. Swann,” He offered, his eyes landing on Isabella only a split second after, “Izzy,” He purred, keeping his arm extended out for her. 

Isabella was quick to fall in step with Elizabeth, the two of them boarding the Pearl arm in arm, and her older sister wasted no time in trying to catch up, “It’s Izzy now?” She muttered, cocking her eyebrow at Isabella. 

Her face immediately flushed and she shot her head around to make sure that Jack was out of range before she swatted at her sister, “Shut up,” She mumbled back, feeling her face heat up even more. 

She was  _ not _ going to become too familiar with Jack, she already promised herself that, and she just had to keep reminding herself that, Elizabeth wasn’t helping in any sense at the moment though, her laughter ringing out for most of the crew to hear. 

But at least Elizabeth was here, and hopefully, Jack wouldn’t lead them astray and soon enough Will would be back with them. She just didn’t have a clue what was going to happen after that. 


	12. Chapter 12

It didn’t take long for Elizabeth to settle in on the Pearl, which Jack seemed more than thrilled about, since they were being led straight towards Elizabeth’s heading, which meant he was one step closer to getting Jones’ heart. 

Isabella and Elizabeth spent the first night not sleeping a wink, the two sisters catching each other up on everything that had happened since they had been separated. Isabella was quick to fill her sister in, telling her every single thing that had happened up until they were reunited on Tortuga. Starting with her and Will finding Jack on an island filled with cannibals, to Tia Dalma and the Black Spot to their encounter with Davy Jones, and Elizabeth seemed very enraptured with all of it. Then Elizabeth was telling her tale of their father trying to free her, and failing, and Elizabeth herself convincing Beckett to let her go after Will, gaining the Letters of Marque in her stead. Isabella was also surprised to learn of Elizabeth’s journey to Tortuga, she had no clue her sister could be so conniving, it almost reminded her of a certain pirate Captain. 

Speaking of Jack, he hadn’t bothered her the entire night, which was a first since the last two night’s she’d been coerced into sharing his cabin with him, but she was thankful for the space he was giving her at the moment, more than happy to keep Elizabeth company in the meantime. 

But when morning came, Elizabeth was quick to excuse herself to the crew’s quarters, wanting to get in  _ some  _ rest while she still could, especially since she hadn’t really learned to be as helpful on a ship as Isabella had. But the younger sister decided to follow in Elizabeth’s footsteps, wanting to get some rest as well, not knowing when they might happen upon Jones’ heart and who they might have to fight for it. 

Aside from the fact that she avoided sleeping in the crew’s quarters at night because of all the men she’d have to sleep next to, she had never believed she’d be able to sleep comfortably in a hammock. She had to have woken up at  _ least _ one time every hour since her and Elizabeth had made their way down to the empty cabin. Finally, she decided she’d had enough of waking up and falling back asleep, so she clamored awkwardly out of the hammock and made her way above deck, hoping that she’d be able to make herself useful somewhere, silently hoping that Elizabeth would be able to get some more rest while she could get it. 

As soon as she was above deck, she noticed something odd; the entire atmosphere on the Pearl seemed to be slightly different. All members of Jack’s crew was awake, and they all seemed to be in very high spirits, it didn’t take her too long to realize that most of the crew seemed to be drinking to some capacity, but everyone seemed to be in high spirits. Isabella wiped at her eyes, her exhaustion hitting her, even though she was glad to have had the chance to catch up with her sister all night long, it was only a hindrance to her now, but there was nothing else she could do about it at this point. 

She really was in no position to complain either, the past two nights she’d slept very well on the Pearl, no thanks to a certain Captain, but she tried to not think about that for too long. Also, she knew that most of the crew had been hard at work last night, she was positive that no one had gotten a good night’s sleep, and even though everyone was up and working now, they all seemed to be in very high spirits, hard at work, following Elizabeth’s character. 

It was almost strange to see everyone so hard at work… and happy about it! 

Jack was quick to make himself known to her and the whole crew, shouting out orders and then proceeding to pass out several bottles of rum, which the crew was eager to accept. Clearly, it was their Captain’s pleasant demeanor that was keeping everyone in high spirits, a huge change from the last few days aboard the Pearl, and it left Isabella curious to know why  _ he _ was in such a good mood himself. 

With one look at jack, Isabella could tell that he was infinitely more at peace than he’d been since her and Will had run into him on the island. He seemed calm, and he looked actually happy, his body didn’t seem to hold any tension anymore, and she could’ve swore she caught him staring at her at least twice since she’d come from the crew’s cabin. 

Isabella was eager to get to work as soon as she possibly could, her exhaustion dying down when the jovial mood of the crew hit her, too. Cotton was quick to let her help him tie down ropes, his parrot squawking noisily in her ear as they did, but she decided to not even let the obnoxious bird dampen her spirits at the moment. 

She had just tied down the last bit of sail when she felt herself getting pulled backwards, her waist trapped in a pair of strong arms that were quick to spin her around until her back was pressed up against one of the railings and she could see who had pinned her to the boat. She let out a quick breath of air at the unexpected movement before she realized what had happened. Jack was standing in front of her, one of his hands resting on the railing behind her back, his arm brushed up against her side, while the other was carelessly waving around a bottle of rum. 

“Jack,” Isabella breathed in surprise, trying to calm down her racing heart from the strange greeting. Her eyes were quick to move from his face to the rum bottle, hoping that he wasn’t going to spill any on her, “You seem to be in good spirits,” She commented, once she was looking back at his face. 

He was grinning widely down at her, his hand on the railing moving until it found a piece of her hair to play with while he spoke, “Aye luv, today calls for celebration,” He proclaimed, shoving the bottle of rum in her face, which she eagerly accepted, happy to not have the fear of him spilling it all over her anymore. 

“I can see, it’s hardly midday, and you’re already drunk,” She replied, wrinkling her nose up at him as she pulled the bottle into her chest. 

He mimicked her facial expression, almost like he was mocking her, as he leant down so their noses were almost touching, “Not yet,” He insisted, but from the stench of his breath she thought it would be a stretch to say that he was wasn’t drunk at this point, “But we’ve our heading, and there’s no one that knows  _ we _ are looking for the heart, there’s nothing to lose, drink up, Izzy!” Jack beamed, using one of his hands to tilt her chin up. 

She shook her head, swatting his hand away in the process, “I think I’d prefer not to, Captain,” She answered, happy to decline his offer. 

Immediately, the man started to pout, “Back to Captain, luv?” He asked. 

Isabella’s jaw almost dropped, he might’ve been slightly more intoxicated than he thought, “I think I’ll be taking this for a little while, it would be best if our Captain could think well enough to give orders, hmm?” She teased, not being able to help herself right now, sure she never actually knew if he was drunk or not, but right now she had a pretty good feeling, and she decided it wouldn’t hurt to mess with him. 

Before she knew what she was doing, she took a small swig of the rum herself, noting silently that it didn’t taste as bad as the last time she’d had it, but she definitely wasn’t going to tell Jack that, thank you very much. 

“Oy!” Jack quickly complained, “Not fair,” Even though he was trying to start an argument with her, a small smile still tugged at the corner of his lips. 

She lightly pushed at the hand that was in her hair, deciding that it was time to push the man away from her so the two of them could get back to work in the meantime, “Maybe we should get back to work?” She offered. 

Isabella made way to take a step away from the railing and away from Jack, hoping that they wouldn’t have to be in this position in broad daylight in front of the entire crew for much longer, but Jack was quick to stop her, slipping his hands down on either side of her and gripping the railing behind her. He stuck out his tongue at her, making a face at her words, “Making up for lost time? Didn’t see you out here this morning working very hard,” He mocked in response. 

She took a moment to readjust to his unexpected movement, not expecting Jack to push himself so close to her when everyone could see the two of them, she could only blame it on the rum, “Elizabeth and I decided to get some rest,” She explained, trying not to let his close proximity rattle her nerves too much, “We spent the whole night catching up.” 

Jack nodded, blowing a stream of air into her face, forcing her to wrinkle up her nose again at the smell, “And… how was the crew’s quarters?” He asked, one of his hands releasing the railing and trailing up her arm, getting close to her hair again, something she realized he liked to play with a lot. 

This time she didn’t bother to stop him as he wound her hair up around his fingers, deciding it was pointless to keep pushing him away when he was coming back to her so persistently, especially now that she was planning on lying straight to his face, “It was very pleasant without the crew there, I’d say it’s the best sleep I’ve ever had on your ship,” She lied, turning her chin up at him. 

Instantly, a grin spread over his face, and she clutched the bottle of rum tighter to her chest, “Can’t possibly imagine a hammock would be quite up to par with your standards, darling,” He answered, his knuckles gliding over her jaw, her hair coming with.

She was quick to nod, disagreeing with him quickly, “Oh, it was wonderful, actually,” She insisted, “Like I said, best sleep I’ve ever had,” She pursed her lips, really hoping that in his intoxicated state he wouldn’t notice her blatant lie. 

He narrowed his eyes at her, staying silent for a moment, “Did ye know you talk in yer sleep?” He quickly changed the subject, leaving Isabella to wonder where he was going with this.

Hesitantly, she nodded at him, “Yes, I did know that… and did you know that you’re handsy- even when you’re awake?” She shot back, wanting to squirm away from his wandering hands, but forcing herself to stay still. 

Jack shrugged, “Never gotten a complaint before,” He smirked, his cocky swagger coming back in full, “Most women  _ like _ it,” He boasted, deciding then to drag her that much closer to him by cupping the back of her head. 

Forcing herself to not shove him away from her, she placed her free hand on his chest, hoping to hold him at bay in the only way she currently could, “Apparently I’m not most women,” She shot back. 

“Course yer not,” Jack assured, “You’re a  _ pirate _ ,” He practically purred. 

Isabella rolled her eyes at him, although a year ago being called a pirate would have bothered her a lot more than it does now, she still  _ wasn’t  _ a pirate, and she wouldn’t let Jack parade her around calling her one, “Call me what you will, Captain,” She shrugged, “I think we both know that’s not quite true.” 

Jack’s eyes seemed to light up, “Not quite true?” He mused, “But you’re on your way,” He teased again, this time to her amusement. 

She bluntly scoffed at him, at this point he was very obviously just trying to get under her skin, and she knew it too, “Like I said, call me what you will,” She repeated, still wondering where he was going with all of this. 

Finally, Jack seemed to realize that she still had his bottle of rum in her hands, “You know,” He hummed, reaching down and drumming his fingers over the bottle still clutched against her chest, “I think you ought to drink up,” He urged, his fingers finding the bottom of the bottle so he could push it up. 

Isabella shook her head, “You already saw me to take a sip, I’d rather get some more work done,” She urged, hoping he’d decide to follow in her footsteps. 

Jack didn’t seem to care for her decision very much at the moment, “Captain’s orders, drink up,” He demanded, giving her no room to argue. 

She rolled her eyes at him again, not being able to help herself, he was being absolutely ridiculous, and she wished she had the guts to tell him just how ridiculous she thought he was being, “I think I’ll have to decline, Captain,” She snarked back. 

As soon as the words were out of her mouth she swore that Jack’s eyes darkened, but before she even had the chance to think about making a speedy escape, he surged forward, in one motion, swiftly pulling the bottle of rum from her grip before he leant down and tossed her over his shoulder with one arm, only wavering slightly when he stood up. 

She was mortified! Sure, he’d done this to her once before, but this was out in the open in front of his crew, who would’ve been blind to not notice this, still she couldn’t help but shriek in shock, “Jack!” She scolded, “Put me down!” She demanded, swinging her legs and beating her hands against his back like she’d done the first time, “You’re going to drop me!” If no one had noticed before, the crew clearly noticed the two of them now, with all of her shouting the two of them were impossible to miss. 

“It’s Jack again, luv?” He asked over his shoulder, his hand planting itself on the back of her thighs to keep her in place before he marched the two of them up the stairs and right into the middle of the ship, where now she was sure everyone had a clear view of the two of them. Finally, he set her down, forcing her to turn so she was overlooking the ship and his crew. 

She didn’t even have the chance to slip away from his grip before he stepped forward, pushing himself into her back and pinning her between his body and the railing, speaking up before she had the chance to do that either, “What do ye lads think? Should our resident missy drink with us?” He called out. 

Even if the crew was confused it didn’t show, they were quick to holler in agreement, some of them waving around their own bottles of rum at the strange display in front of them, clearly pleased to have a reason to take a break from their own tasks. 

Her face had to have been as red as Jack’s bandana at that point, and when he thrust the bottle of rum back under her nose again, she accepted it with shaky hands, hoping the faster she took a sip, the sooner he’d be done teasing her. So, she took the smallest sip possible, immediately moving to pass the bottle back over her shoulder to Jack when she was done. 

“Not enough, darling,” Jack grinned, running one hand up her back and letting it settle on her shoulder, his fingers danced over her collarbone as he refused to accept the bottle back. 

His crew was yelling similar things too, and she wished she could just look away from them, but with Jack against her back there was nowhere else for her to go, forcing her to glare down at the crew in response. 

Jack was quick to lean his head down, his fingers digging into her skin at the same time, “If ye want to get back to work, yer going to have to appease my men,” He breathed, his lips brushing up against her ear. 

It was hard to ignore the shiver that ran down her spine from his touch, but she forced herself to lift the bottle up to her lips again, trying to ignore Jack counting down from five in her ear, but forcing herself to keep drinking until he hit zero, her throat feeling fully on fire by the time he was done counting. This time when she lowered the bottle, the crew was cheering her on, sounding thrilled at this morning’s event, and Jack happily accepted the bottle back for himself, taking a large gulp. 

She pushed away from the railing, managing to get Jack off of her back with one hard push, only wanting to get back to work so she could forget about how horribly embarrassing the whole situation was. 

Once she had put some distance between the two of them, he was quick to call out to her, “Let it be said that our Isabella can hold her liquor,” He announced with a wink that only made her blood boil that much more. 

She slipped away from Jack as quickly as possible after that, getting back to her work, and the happy atmosphere on the ship didn’t die down even with her trying to avoid everyone that tried to talk to her or share their rum with her after that, and to fight her embarrassment, she was afraid to admit that she might’ve had a bit more rum than she would’ve liked to. She had pretty successfully managed to stop the teasing that was coming her way, right up until James approached her, looking only slightly less filthy than he had the other night. 

“Since when did  _ he _ gain your affection?” James asked, getting straight to the point. 

At the sound of his voice, Isabella immediately spun around on her heel, not expecting to see James there, especially since he still hadn’t properly said hello after shoving a gun in her face the previous night, “Good to see you James, so glad I got to hear your apology for pointing a gun at me last night,” She quipped back, not wanting anyone to talk to her about Jack at the moment, lest any unnecessary rumors spread around the Pearl. 

A smile played at his lips, “No hard feelings, I presume?” He asked. 

She nearly laughed at him, unsure if she actually found the situation humorous or if it was just the rum at this point, “I’ll survive,” She agreed, moving to turn back to her work. 

James wasn’t quite done yet though, “How did you manage to tame him?” He prodded, continuing with his train of thought from earlier, “Last I knew, Jack Sparrow wasn’t an agreeable man.” 

Isabella had to scoff at that, she had no clue what he was talking about, “How did I tame him? I’m sure you’ll find I did no such thing, I don’t think there will ever be a woman who could tame that man,” She said, rolling her eyes. 

The former Commodore didn’t seem so convinced though, “I’ll say… He does seem to be quite taken with you, from what I’ve seen since last night-” He started, and she was happy to shut him up with a laugh. 

“Oh, please,” She laughed, “Jack’s as taken with me as he is with Will, I doubt he could ever be taken with anyone frankly, he uses people to get where he needs to be, and there’s no more to him than that,” She explained with a shrug. 

James shrugged his shoulders in response, clearly unconvinced, “If you say so,” It sounded like he was going to say more, but before he had the chance to, he was being shoved from behind towards the helm, clearly someone wasn’t very happy James was chatting instead of working. 

She couldn’t help but find it humorous how much the former Commodore seemed to get beat up around here, maybe he’d have to rethink going into a life of piracy. 

Even with James gone, Isabella couldn’t help but think about what he had just said. It was odd that he would have thought there was something between the two of them. Sure, Jack very obviously flirted with her, she’d have to be blind to not notice that, but Jack flirts with every woman he comes across, it was just who he was, and at this point, she was just easy entertainment for him when it came to him wanting some attention. Just because of his antics today didn’t mean he was acting any different towards her than he would’ve with anyone like Elizabeth… right? 

Focusing on a task became hard when her mind became stuck on Jack, and she realized that she hadn’t seen him in a little while, too caught up in her conversation with James to notice the Captain who plagued her thoughts. Her eyes wandered the ship, searching for him, and it didn’t take long for her to see him perched behind the wheel of the Pearl. She expected to see him looking out over the horizon, still following Elizabeth’s heading, but when she looked up, his eyes locked with hers, and then he even  _ winked _ at her! 

Without wasting a second, she looked away, embarrassed to have been caught as her face turned bright red again, this time hidden under the slight sunburn she’d managed to work up during the course of the early afternoon. It didn’t take her long after that to find a bottle of rum and take another hefty sip of it. 

When Elizabeth first woke up, Jack immediately ushered her to the wheel with him, checking to make sure he was still on the right path, and soon after that, Elizabeth was joining Isabella on the lower deck, the two girls sitting side by side on a small bench. 

“I wonder how Jack came upon his compass,” Elizabeth mused, turning it over in her palm a few times, flipping it open to watch it spin before closing it shut again. It was almost funny, that the compass was the object Isabella needed to trade for Elizabeth’s freedom, and here Elizabeth was, not even knowing that she was holding what Isabella fought so hard for. 

“Oh, the woman we met, Tia Dalma, apparently she gave it to him a long time ago, I don’t know why though, or how she got it in the first place,” Isabella explained, running her hands through her hair to try and comb out some of the knots. 

Elizabeth hummed in response, “Strange,” She muttered, looking up at Isabella, “What do you want most?” She asked. 

She frowned, she really wasn’t sure, before when Jack had asked her, she had only wanted Elizabeth back, and now she could only assume she wanted to find Will, but she also wanted to follow Jack’s crazy plan to see if it actually would work out for him, “Oh, I’m not sure,” She muttered, furrowing her brow. 

Her sister perked up at that, “Well, we have to see,” Elizabeth urged, thrusting the compass into her hand, “Open it up!” 

Hesitantly, Isabella popped open the compass, watching the dial spin around a few times before pointing behind her, and she could only assume that it was pointing towards the Flying Dutchman, since she didn’t particularly need to find Jones’ heart like Jack had convinced Elizabeth she needed. 

“Only problem is… I’m not sure what it’s pointing to,” She mused, passing the compass back towards Elizabeth. 

The older sister shrugged, “I’m sure you’ll figure it out soon,” She agreed, continuing to fiddle with the compass. 

Isabella didn’t quite know what to say to that, there really wasn’t anything she could say. Elizabeth obviously knew what she wanted most right now, but it was a strange feeling to know that there had to be something you wanted most in the world, even if you weren’t quite sure what it was yourself. 

She couldn’t help but wonder if that was how Jack felt. 

A part of her wanted to look up at him, but a bigger part of her was still annoyed at him for his little stunt he’d pulled only a few hours ago, so she stayed put, but her mind didn’t. She wanted to know what she wanted, but the compass couldn’t show her that, and it was infuriating not knowing, so she had to assume that she wanted to find Will, she couldn’t imagine there was anything else at the moment! 

Time seemed to be passing very slowly while her and Elizabeth were sitting and waiting for something to happen. She’d offered to help get some work done, but as soon as Elizabeth had woken up, no one seemed to want to let Isabella put the help in any longer. A part of her found it sweet that even a crew of pirates wanted the sisters to spend some time together, but there was only so much the two of them could do when they were stuck on a ship, it really wasn’t that helpful at the moment… but she supposed she didn’t mind that she didn’t have to swab the deck at the moment. 

Isabella was so caught up in her thoughts she didn’t even notice when Elizabeth was pulling something out of her pocket and practically shoving it under her sister’s nose, “I forgot to show you these,” Elizabeth said, passing some papers over to Isabella, “Beckett’s Letters of Marque,” She continued. 

Immediately, Isabella was pulling the papers away from Elizabeth, even though her sister had told her that she’d gotten the letters from Beckett, seeing these was a completely different thing, she honestly couldn’t believe it, “I’m impressed you were able to get these from him, during our meeting he didn’t seem very agreeable to persuasion,” Isabella grinned. 

She studied the signature, making sure it was real, and sure enough, from what she could tell the signature was definitely Beckett’s. She couldn’t help but laugh at their situation, now as long as they could get Will back, things would hopefully be looking up for all of them, the only one who wouldn’t have their problem solved was Jack with Beckett, but he was never going to be a free man, even if she did go back, so Isabella tried not to think about that too much. 

“Do you suppose we should show Jack?” Elizabeth asked. 

Before Isabella even had the chance to answer, she was being cut off by the aforementioned man from behind, “Show Jack what?” 

Immediately, Isabella shot her head to the side, finding Jack and Gibbs standing behind her, the two of them most likely having just walked down the stairs, and Jack just so happened to hear the tail end of their conversation. How convenient. 

Isabella clutched the papers tighter to her chest, while she did promise she would trust him, this wasn’t hers to just give away, “Do you always make a point to listen in to your crew’s conversation?” She shot back before Elizabeth had the chance to say anything. 

Jack cocked his head to the side, “Only when the conversation happens to catch me interest,” He countered, taking a few steps closer to the sisters, “Now, what’s that?” He asked, his eyes narrowed in on the papers in Isabella’s hands, the catch in his step showing her that he had still been drinking all day.

Isabella shot a look towards Elizabeth, but her sister seemed surprisingly complacent at the moment, for some reason letting Isabella deal with the Captain, “Elizabeth got these from Beckett, Letters of Marque,” She explained, hesitantly passing the papers over to Jack. 

He was quick to snatch the papers out of her hand, looking a little skeptical as he looked over them, “Beckett?” He clarified. 

She nodded in response, and Elizabeth spoke up now, “Yes, they’re signed ‘Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company,” She quickly cut in, drawing Jack’s attention to the signature. 

He grunted in response, sticking out his tongue childishly as he read the papers, causing Isabella to roll her eyes at him as she got to her feet, inadvertently putting herself that much closer to him. 

Gibbs now chose to speak up, finally putting two and two together, “Beckett wants the compass, only one reason for that,” He muttered, his gaze falling on Isabella, looking at her almost doubtfully. 

Suddenly, it all made sense to Isabella. Of course Beckett knew about the compass, he was probably trying to get to Jones’ heart just like Jack was, she didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it before! 

“Of course,” Jack agreed, “He wants the chest.” 

Everyone seemed to have known that Beckett had something to do with the chest, except for her, but thankfully she was finding out now before they got pulled further into this crazy scheme, “Yes, he did say something about a chest,” Elizabeth was quick to agree. 

“If the company controls the chest, they control the sea,” Gibbs continued. 

Jack nodded in agreement, turning to Isabella with an almost smug look on his face, “A truly discomforting notion, luv,” He said, and she was sure that he had known that Beckett wanted the chest as soon as they told him that Beckett had sent them. 

She narrowed her eyes at him, not happy with how quick he was to tease her. 

“Bad!” Gibbs groaned, “Bad for every mother’s son what calls himself pirate! I think there’s a bit more speed to be coaxed from these sails,” He decided, leaving Jack’s side to get the crew moving away, the festivities quickly coming to an end. 

“Might I inquire how you came by these?” Jack asked, slapping the papers against his hand as he turned to Elizabeth.

She shrugged, “Persuasion.” 

Jack clearly seemed interested now, “Friendly?” He countered. 

“Decidedly not,” Elizabeth replied, Isabella letting out a quiet chuckle. 

Isabella watched as Jack stared down at the papers, and she had a bad feeling about him still holding on tightly to the Letters of Marque as he began to speak again, “Will strikes a deal for these and upholds it with honor, yet you’re the one standing here with the prize… “Full pardon, commissioned as a privateer on behalf of England and the East India Trading Company,” He scoffed as he tucked the letters into his clothes, “As if I could be bought for such a low price.” 

He moved so quickly she hardly even noticed him stache the papers away, but she did, and so did Elizabeth, “Jack, the letters, give them back,” She demanded, taking a step forward. 

He was already walking away from the two of them, clearly not planning on giving them back, “No,” He was quick to answer, spinning around, “Persuade me,” He grinned. Looking between Elizabeth and Isabella before shooting the younger sister a quick wink. 

Elizabeth’s jaw dropped and she nudged Isabella, as if urging her to do something about it, “Jack, those are for Elizabeth,” She shot back, not knowing what else to say to help her sister. 

He shrugged, “As I said… persuade me,” Jack’s gaze seemed to linger on her for another moment and before either of the sisters could get another word in, he’d strutted away from them. 

Elizabeth quickly spun Isabella around to face her, holding her by the shoulders, “You need to get those back,” She hissed. 

Isabella frowned, pushing Elizabeth’s hands off of her, “Why do I need to get them?” She demanded, “They’re your letters, besides he asked you to persuade him, not me!” She was quick to argue. 

“I guess you weren’t paying attention, he wasn’t even looking at me,” Elizabeth countered, gesturing out to where Jack had walked away from them, “Just try, and if you can’t then I will!” She argued. 

Isabella  _ really _ wanted to say no, but the longer she thought about it the faster she realized that there was no way she’d be able to say no to her sister, “Fine, I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything, I’ve never been able to convince him of anything,” She continued, hoping that Elizabeth might just decide to persuade Jack herself. 

After their conversation, Isabella found herself walking away from Elizabeth to clear her head, not quite finding the confidence at the moment to be able to walk right up to Jack and figure out a way for him to hand her over the papers so quickly. 

With the crew back to work on their race to the chest, it was easy for her to join in on the work again, deciding to keep herself busy while she tried to convince herself of a way to persuade Jack. She really had no clue how to persuade him to do anything, the last time she’d managed to do that the two of them were drunk and all she needed him to do was fall asleep! But then again, maybe she could steal the papers off of him, since he essentially stole them from Elizabeth, and she wouldn’t have to feel guilty about it. And now that she’s seen him when he’s been drunk and seen how quickly he could sober up, she was sure if she tried that again she’d really have to make sure she wasn’t letting anything slip.

But if that didn’t work she still had to think of another way to get the papers back from him, she couldn’t let him hold onto them when Elizabeth got them for herself! There had to be another way to convince him, she just wasn’t sure if she’d be able to pull anything off without him getting suspicious… 

She didn’t know how long she worked for until she decided to take a little rest, taking a seat on the stairs to catch her breath after all the work she’d done. She wasn’t surprised when she recognized Jack’s familiar warmth settle next to her. 

“My tremendous intuitive sense of the female creature informs me that you are… troubled,” He began, leaning into her slightly. 

Isabella had to resist rolling her eyes at him, of course she was troubled, mainly because she was trying to figure out how to deal with  _ him _ , not to mention she was still annoyed at him for earlier, and now she had to have a civil conversation without giving that away, “I’m worried for Elizabeth,” She confessed, feeling better now that she wasn’t outright lying to him, “She’s just so ready to be married.”

Jack seemed to pull a bottle of rum out of nowhere, passing it over to her, and she eagerly accepted, knowing she’d need a little liquid courage to deal with him at the moment. Without realizing what Jack was doing, he’d managed to scoot that much closer to her, pulling one of his legs up as he accepted the bottle back from her, and slinging his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. 

“You know…” He began, taking another sip of his rum before looking down at Isabella, “Izzy, if yer sister is looking forward to attending a wedding, I  _ am _ Captain of a ship, and being Captain of a ship I could, in fact, perform a marriage right here. Right on this deck, right now,” He leant into her even more, causing her to wrinkle her nose at the stench of rum on his breath, maybe this was going to be easier than she expected, especially if he was already drunk. 

Isabella groaned, and shoved at his chest, pushing him away from her as she got to her feet, silently hoping that he’d follow after her for once, “No thank you,” She declined, not bothering to look behind her, but silently laughing at how ridiculous he was being. 

Thankfully, Jack was behind her in an instant, “Why not,” He countered, running a hand up her back as the two of them reached the railing of the ship, letting his arm settle around her waist, “We are very much alike, you and I. I and you… us,” He grinned, getting much too close to her once more. 

She had to force herself not to blush, knowing that she was only playing along to get the papers and he was only teasing her like he always did, it was just Jack being Jack, “Except for a sense of honor, decency, and a moral center… And personal hygiene,” Isabella muttered, turning to face him and trying to ignore how close the two of them were next to each other. 

“Oi,” He argued, “I’m honorable, and decent, you said you trust me, luv,” He countered, his free hand coming up to play with the coin he’d braided into her hair. 

She let him toy with her at the moment, deciding that she would have to pick her battles at the moment, “Just because I trust you Jack doesn’t mean that I find you honorable, or decent,” She confessed. 

Jack frowned at her, “If ye don’t find me decent, you’d have left the Pearl as soon as yer sister got free,” He argued back, a small smile still on his face. 

Isabella was quick to swallow her pride, deciding that  _ maybe _ flirting back with him wouldn’t be the worst idea at the moment… “Fine, you caught me, maybe I find you tolerable,” She answered, sending him a quick wink as the corners of her lips turned up in a grin. 

Immediately, Jack’s eyes darkened, and she wasn’t so sure this was the best idea anymore, but it was for Elizabeth, “You’ll come over to my side, I know it,” Jack breathed, stepping closer to her. 

She nodded, letting one of her hands run up his chest until she was playing with a lock of his hair, “You sound very certain,” She muttered, knowing that the papers weren’t on the right side of his body after she’d ran her hands up that side. 

Jack let out a breath of air, “One word, luv,” He flashed her a grin, “Curiosity. You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do because you want it. To act on selfish impulse. You want to see what it’s like, and you’re already on your way. One day, you won’t be able to resist,” He purred, getting his face that much closer to hers, almost too close to her, and she had to find a way to put some space between them quickly. 

Isabella ducked under Jack’s arm, turning the two of them around so now Jack was the one pressed closer to the railing, and she had plenty of space behind her to escape if she wanted to, “I think I’m resisting it just fine, thank you, Captain,” Before she could fully move away from him like she planned on, Jack had grabbed her and pulled her back to him, and she couldn’t help but let out a shriek in response, catching herself on him at the last minute before she could fall on him. 

“Doesn’t look like it to me, darling,” He continued to taunt, his fingers digging into her side.

She stifled a laugh, not wanting him to know how he was affecting her, and suddenly she got an idea, “You know, I do think you and I are alike, Jack,” She mumbled, lowering her voice in hopes that he’d become more interested in what she had to say, “And there will come a day when you’ll have a chance to show it, you’ll have a chance to do the right thing,” She continued. 

Jack raised an eyebrow, but didn’t bother to dismiss her immediately, “I love those moments, I like to wave at them as they pass by,” He countered, pulling her that much closer to him as he spoke. 

Isabella used that opportunity to subtly check the other side of his shirt for the papers, not finding them their either, “You’ll have the chance to do something courageous, and when you do, you’ll discover something I already know,” She hesitated, pushing herself up on her tip-toes to bring her lips to his ear, “That you’re a good man,” She couldn’t help but grin when she felt Jack stiffen around her and she slowly pulled away to see his expression. 

He nodded, hesitating for a second too long, “All evidence to the contrary,” Jack managed to get out. 

A laugh burst from Isabella’s lips, he was becoming predictable, which was a good thing for her, “No, perhaps you are decent because I have faith in you… you want to know why?” Isabella continued, the grin on her face now genuine. 

He was smiling as well, now, one of his hands coming up to brush her hair away from her face, his hand lingering by the side of her face, “Do tell, dearest,” He hummed. 

The fact that he was drunk was really giving her a lot of confidence at the moment, normally she’d never flirt with him this much, but maybe she could get him to drink so much he wouldn’t even remember this the next day, that would really be wonderful, “Curiosity,” She said, repeating his words from earlier, “You’re going to want it- a chance to be admired- and gain the rewards that follow. You won’t be able to resist, you’re going to want to know what it tastes like,” She finished, leaning that much closer to Jack again. 

He was also leaning in, his head angled towards hers and his lips slightly parted, his fingers brushed against her cheek as he recovered from his drunken stupor, “I do want to know what it tastes like,” He confessed, his fingers now caressing her cheek as he kept leaning down, getting much too close. 

She was quick to stop him with a hand to his chest, smiling innocently up at him, “But seeing as you’re a good man, I know that you’d never put me in a position that would compromise my honor,” She continued, her heart racing when she realized Jack wasn’t so quick to pull away from her like she would’ve liked, “I am technically engaged, if you can recall,” She perked up, hoping the mention of Beckett would calm him down for a moment, since he clearly wasn’t going to stop by his own free will at this point! 

He only responded by tugging her that much closer, tightening his grip on her significantly and with his one arm around her waist it wasn’t so easy for her to pull away from him without him expecting she was planning something, and with him getting that much closer to her, she really wasn’t sure what to do except give herself up, and then she’d have to figure something else out. Or… she could just let him go through with it… 

Just when Jack seemed like he was going to close the gap between the two of them, his eyes widened and he let out a sharp breath, now staring down at his hand, instead of focusing on her anymore. Isabella felt herself take a breath that she very desperately needed to take, quickly turning her attention to his hand, which he’d now lowered to her shoulder. 

She pulled her eyes away from his face to look down at his hand, noticing the large black spot that had formed in the middle of his palm again, and even though she wasn’t very happy to see that for his sake, it did save her from making a poor decision at the moment. 

Jack’s eyes shot back to hers and his grip around her waist moved until he was clutching her arm, “I need my jar of dirt,” He muttered darkly, quickly turning the two of them away from the railing as he pulled her along behind him. 

It took her a minute to recover from the quick change in direction from Jack, she was surprised that he  _ hadn’t _ kissed her honestly, but the two of them were just teasing each other, she hoped anyway… 

She was pulled out of her train of thought when Jack swiftly pulled the two of them into his cabin, shutting the door behind her as he frantically started to search around the cabin until the jar of dirt was safely in his arms. 

“Feel better?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest, somewhat upset she hadn’t been able to get the letters back from him yet. 

He was clutching the jar to his chest, it was almost comical for her to look at as he nodded at her, “You wouldn’t understand,” He huffed, turning his nose up at her. 

Isabella didn’t know what to do now, she had no clue why Jack had dragged her along behind him, but now that she was in his cabin, it would be a good chance for her to continue her search for the papers while she still had the chance to. 

“Well, as long as you’re feeling a little better…” She trailed off, purposefully marching over towards the lone chair in the corner of the cabin, sitting down in it and crossing her legs as she rested her head in her hand, staring up at him, “Maybe we should continue where we left off,” She wasn’t quite sure where her burst of confidence came from, but once the words were out of her mouth she just barely managed to stop herself from bolting from her new spot. 

Even though she was very clearly egging him on, he still didn’t bother to look at her, instead, he shifted around so he was staring at his hand again, thumbing at the black spot on his palm, “Where was that, luv?” He asked, still not bothering to look up. 

Isabella frowned, and stood up, marching over to where Jack was worrying over his hand, “Never mind,” She hummed, knowing that she wasn’t going to get him back on track until he was a little less distracted by his hand, “Here, let me fix this up for you,” She ordered, pulling him to sit him down on the small bed, before she grabbed a strip of fabric from one of his shelves, sitting next to him as she stared to wrap his hand up, “Just try not to think about it,” She warned, tying a tight knot when she was done. 

His fingers were still drumming over his jar of dirt as he shot her a skeptical look, “Hard to avoid that  when we’re on the open sea, dearie,” He scowled. 

Isabella was going to open her mouth to argue that they were bound to reach land soon, they’d been sailing straight through the night, but then out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of white, and when she turned her head to look down at the space between her and Jack, she was quick to spot the papers poking out of his coat pocket. 

She snapped her mouth shut and looked up at him, not quite sure what she was going to say to him, but happy to have found what she was looking for finally, and with a quick cough, she continued with her original plan, “...Maybe you just need a good distraction,” She muttered, scooting slightly closer to him so that her arm was brushing up against his, her hand that much closer to the papers. 

For some reason, this seemed to snap Jack’s attention back to her, he was looking at her again as though he’d just noticed she was still in his cabin with him, and a small grin came to his lips, “And pray tell… what sort of distraction might you be thinking of?” Jack asked, taking one hand off his jar of dirt to move it behind her on the bed, so she could lean into him a little bit further. 

She reached out and took the jar from him, quickly setting it on the floor by her feet before she inched her hand back towards the papers, “I’m not sure,” She confessed, looking up at him with wide eyes, knowing she was really milking this for all it was worth, “You’re always the one with the grand ideas, I’m sure you could think of a few now,” Before Jack even had the chance to respond, she turned into him, bringing her hands up to his jacket collar to thumb at it slightly, “You know, I’ve always fancied your coat,” She began, pulling at the material slightly, “Maybe I could try it on?” She asked, looking up at him innocently. 

Jack began to move, shifting his jacket off his shoulders, but before he could pass the coat over to her, the two of them could hear Mr. Gibbs shouting from outside the room, catching their attention immediately. Jack was quick to shoot to his feet before Isabella even knew what was going on, he had bent over to pick up his jar again and extended his hand out to her, pulling her to her feet in one swift movement, “Suppose we should see what that’s all about,” He muttered, letting go of her hand to bring his to rest on her lower back, quickly guiding her out of the room. 

Once the two of them were on the deck again, Isabella still trying to find a way to get the papers that were now wrapped up tighter in his coat that was slung over his arm, they were able to tell what Gibbs had been shouting about. In the distance, the two of them could see a small island in the distance, and she only hoped that this was the island that they were looking for. 

“Where’s my compass?” Jack muttered, turning away from the sight of the island to look around the ship for Elizabeth. 

Isabella was quick to spot her sister on the deck, the compass still clutched tightly in her hand, and she moved away from Jack’s touch to walk towards Elizabeth. 

Once she reached her sister’s side, she peered over the edge of the compass to see it pointing straight at the island ahead of them, “So that’s where we’re heading?” She asked, furrowing her brow, the power of the compass still a bit confusing to her. 

Elizabeth shrugged, still studying it, “I’m assuming, Mr. Gibbs seems to think so,” She concluded. 

Jack caught back up to Isabella at that point, heading to Elizabeth’s other side to look at the compass, “Aye, we’ll drop anchor soon,” He agreed, apparently having heard the end of their conversation. 

After looking over the compass, Jack was quick to start shouting orders to his crew, preparing them to weigh anchor and get ready to set sail to the island. The two sisters didn’t have to do much until the anchor was dropped, besides getting read to go to shore, and Isabella made sure she had the essentials with her, grabbing a hat to help shield her from the sun, and a sword, just in case any bad luck came their way. It didn’t take long for her to get ready, and then she was  getting into the long boat with Jack, Norrington, Ragetti, and Pintel, the last two tasked with rowing them to shore. 

Isabella and Elizabeth had been crammed next to each other on the small bench in the middle of the boat, Jack sat behind them, his jar of dirt still in his clutch, and Norrington at the front, looking almost bored with what was going on. 

She could feel Jack flustering around in the back of the small boat, but she didn’t bother to look back at him, instead focusing on the island in front of them, occasionally glancing down at Jack’s compass to see if they were still on course. It wasn’t long in their journey to shore before Pintel and Ragetti began to argue about the kraken, and Isabella became very aware of Jack’s presence behind her after that. 

Once they were closer to shore, the six of them climbed out of the boat, leaving only a few things behind, including Jack’s jacket, which she was pretty sure still had the papers tucked safely inside. Jack grabbed a shovel and turned to the two crew members, “Guard the boat; mind the tides… don’t touch my dirt,” He warned as the remaining four of them began to wade through the waters to get to shore, Norrington on his tail with the two women trailing behind him. 

When they reached the shore, Jack made Elizabeth take the lead, following her as she searched for where the chest was buried. Isabella started to sweat as soon as they had gotten out of the water, and she only hoped that this would go by quickly, but she had a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen, especially when Jack was involved. 

“Are we on the right track?” Isabella asked once Elizabeth had collapsed on the ground, the compass falling open beside her. 

Jack had also noticed Elizabeth drop the compass as he went over to the older sister, “It’s not working,” Elizabeth complained, frowning slightly. 

With Isabella and Jack peering over the compass, she was surprised to see that it was pointing directly at Elizabeth, and it didn’t take her long to figure out what that meant, “Yes it is,” Jack cut in first, “You’re sitting on it,” He explained, being to shoo at her to move. 

“Beg pardon?” Elizabeth asked, frowning up at Jack. 

“Move,” Jack continued, whistling to catch Norrington’s attention so he could begin digging. 

Once Norrington began digging, the three of them seemed to split up, Elizabeth began pacing on the beach, while Jack moved to the side to sit down on the sand, leaving Isabella looking between the two of them, hoping that Norrington would hurry up and uncover the chest. 

“Izzy!” Her head shot to the side to see Jack, still facing the ocean, but it was clearly him who had called out to her. 

After suffering a knowing look from Elizabeth, Isabella hesitantly walked over to Jack’s side, sitting herself down in the sand next to him so she could see the Pearl in the distance, “You called?” She mocked, feeling slightly aggravated that he hadn’t even bothered to look at her when she sat down. 

“Fancied myself some company,” He muttered, shifting so his legs were crossed now, and his knee fell over her thigh, forcing her to scoot further away from him, causing his leg to fall into the sand. 

She watched him peer at her from the corner of his eye, just barely looking at her before he shut his eyes again. She let out a huff and crossed her legs like Jack had, crossing her arms over her chest as well, “So your plan is to just sit here until James is done digging?” She asked, unsure if she was trying to get his attention or not. 

“James?” He picked up, ignoring her question, “You and the Commodore are still on a first name basis?” 

Isabella rolled her eyes, looking behind her to see James had taken a quick break to chat with Elizabeth about something, “We’ve always been on a first name basis, James was courting Elizabeth, not me,” She shrugged. 

Finally, Jack opened his eyes again, shooting her a skeptical look, “Before I met the two of you ye could’ve had me fooled,” He replied, very obviously looking her up and down. 

Her face immediately flushed red, not sure where Jack was going with all this, maybe flirting with him on the Pearl before hadn’t been her brightest idea… Especially if Jack planned on doing it openly, but at the moment, she decided to brush it off, not wanting to deal with what he could actually be implying at the moment, “Please,” She said, brushing off the comment as best she could, “James and I would never have been betrothed, apparently my father was waiting for a man like Beckett to come around,” She huffed, laughing at her strange situation. In all reality, she would’ve been fine being betrothed to James, at least the two of them got along, but Beckett just made her blood boil. 

At the mention of her fiance’s name, she watched Jack visibly stiffen, his face falling into a grimace, which immediately caught her attention. 

“You never told me how you knew Beckett,” She mumbled, happy to find a change in subject. 

Jack’s eyes fell shut again, but the scowl was still there, “Our paths crossed years ago, didn’t end well,” He trailed off. 

Of course she wanted to know more, he was very clearly trying to avoid the question, and she definitely wanted to know a little bit more about both mysterious men, “Well, I personally would love to hear more, it’s not every day I get to learn more about my fiance,” She argued, hoping she’d be able to spur Jack into talking to her. 

He scoffed, turning up his nose at her, “He’s not your fiance,” Was all he mumbled. 

Isabella couldn’t help but frown, not sure if she should continue to pester him or actually give it up, but her stubborn side won out in the end, “Of course he is, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to honor that,” She shot back, turning away from him so she was looking out at the sea again. 

Jack turned away from her too, so the two of them were side by side, his arm brushing up against hers, “Sounds like something a  _ pirate _ would say, don’t you think? I don’t think Beckett’s a man who would want to marry a  _ pirate _ ,” Jack continued. 

She rolled her eyes, of course he was going to try to turn the conversation around on her, “Come off it,” She sighed, slapping his shoulder, almost like she was teasing him, “If you really knew him you’d know he doesn’t care,” She nearly laughed. 

He was quick to huff in disagreement, putting his arms out behind him on the beach so he was supported in his sitting position, “Well it sounds like you already know enough about the man you’re so madly in love with, suppose I won’t need to be telling you anything else,” He said, smugly. 

She narrowed her eyes at the man next to her, he knew all too well how to get on her nerves, and he knew even more that she harbored no feelings of admiration towards Beckett in the  _ slightest _ , least of all would she ever claim to love that man. She was about to snap at him, but the grin playing at the corner of his lips caught her attention at the very last second and she forced herself to relax, not wanting to actually get herself worked up over his teasing. 

Jack let out a laugh when she settled back into a relaxed position, “Happy to see you agree,” He grinned, sitting up a little bit straighter as he let one of his hands shift in the sand until it was resting behind her now, his one arm pressed up against her back. 

Isabella shot her head to the side to send him an accusatory glare, not being able to resist at the moment, “You are intolerable,” She sighed, shoving halfheartedly at his side. 

“To you and many others, dearest,” He agreed, making a very obvious point as he let his hand trail up her back before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. 

She took a sharp breath when she was pulled into his side, but didn’t immediately push away from him like she would’ve liked to, for a moment, she just tried to let herself relax, since there really was nothing else she could do while they were waiting for James to dig up the chest. She couldn’t resist looking over her shoulder to see if Elizabeth or James could see the two of them like this, and for the moment, neither of them were quite paying attention, “It’s a wonder I’m still here,” She mumbled in response, still looking out towards James and her sister, not expecting Jack to actually be able to pick up on what she was saying. 

“Suppose it is, or maybe… I’m not as bad as yer letting on,” He grinned, managing to get her attention back on him as he flashed her a grin. 

Jack started to play with the lining of her shirt as she looked over at him, wrinkling her nose up at him, “Perhaps,” She mused, and before she could say anything else in response, there was a loud clanging noise from behind them, immediately capturing their attention. 

He was on his feet in an instant, his grip on her shoulders never faltering as he pulled her to her feet and straight over to Norrington’s side. Isabella was quick to squirm out from under Jack’s arm, not wanting James to confront her again so soon about the pirate, but she was happy to see that his attention was very clearly focused on uncovering the chest. 

Once the chest was uncovered, Jack was quick to break the lock with a shovel, pulling out a smaller chest, with a more intricate lock, leaving the four of them to just stare it down. 

Isabella was quick to lean into the chest, mimicking Jack’s movement, surprised when she noticed that there was a soft beating noise coming from the chest in Jack’s hands, “It’s real,” She breathed. Even though she’d wanted to trust Jack throughout this whole ordeal, the notion that a man had locked his still beating heart away in a chest was over the top regardless! 

“You were actually telling the truth,” Norrington continued, sounding shocked. 

Jack nodded in agreement, pulling the chest closer to him, “I do that quite a lot, yet people are still surprised,” He shrugged, sending a smug grin towards Isabella. 

She would’ve rolled her eyes if it weren’t for someone coming up behind Jack then, making themselves known, “With good reason!” 

Everyone turned their heads to see Will walk up to their small group, and Elizabeth wasted no time in running to him, immediately wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down into a kiss, while Jack shuffled closer to Isabella, “What a happy reunion,” He muttered, setting the chest down by their feet. “How did you get here?” He called once he had straightened out. 

Isabella was now looking back at Will and Elizabeth, the former staring down Jack, his arm wrapped loosely around Elizabeth, “Sea turtles, mate, pair of them strapped to my feet,” He mocked. 

She was quick to notice the look on Will’s face, and he apparently was not very happy with Jack, “Not so easy, is it?” Jack countered. 

“But I do owe you thanks, Jack,” Will continued, taking a few steps closer to the pirate as he let go of Elizabeth. 

“You do?” Jack frowned. 

“After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones,” He began to explain, only to get cut off by Elizabeth. 

“What?” She exclaimed, turning to Jack, accusingly. 

Jack was quick to raise his brows as well, acting surprised, “What?” He continued. 

“I was reunited with my father,” Will finished. 

Isabella was beyond confused at this point, there seemed to be a lot going on that only Jack and Will were fully privy to, and that wasn’t something she was very pleased about. But at the same time, now she had to figure out how to explain to Elizabeth why she didn’t tell her that Jack had tricked Will aboard the Dutchman, if it even came to that… 

Jack, on the other hand, didn’t seem as worried in the slightest, “Oh, well, you’re welcome then,” He shrugged. 

Elizabeth was quick to turn her angry glare to Jack, “Everything you said to me, every word was a lie,” And Isabella was thankful that her sister’s anger wasn’t directed at her, perhaps she would assume that Jack tricked her as well. 

Jack shrugged, feeling no remorse, “Pretty much, time and tide,” he explained, hardly noticing Will kneeling down by the chest in front of them until Will pulled out a key and a knife, “Oy, what are you doing?” Jack argued. 

“I’m going to kill Jones,” Will quickly explained, about the slip the key into the lock, but he was quickly stopped by Jack quickly unsheathing his sword and pointing it directly at Will’s neck. 

“Jack!” Isabella quickly scolded. 

He wasn’t paying much attention to anyone but Will at the moment though, “Can’t let you do that, William,” He began, “Cause if Jones is dead, who’s to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh? Now, if you please, the key,” He asked, raising an eyebrow and holding his hand out for the key just as Will got to his feet, the key still clutched tightly in his free hand. 

Will acted just as quickly as Jack had, reaching behind him to pull Elizabeth’s sword out from her side, holding it up to Jack and holding the key behind him, “I keep the promises I make, Jack,” Will countered, “I intend to free my father and I hope you’re here to see it,” He said. 

Before either of the women could cut in now, Norrington decided to put himself into the fray, “I can’t let you do that either, so sorry,” James cut in, pulling out his sword to hold it up to Will as well now. 

Jack flashed Norrington a grin, “I knew you’d warm up to me eventually,” He snarked, clearly not taking this situation all that seriously. 

Isabella felt her jaw drop, she had no clue how this escalated so quickly and she grabbed her sword at her side, ready to jump in if anything looked like it was going to get too serious as she slipped closer to Elizabeth, who looked as equally confused. 

James was quick to swing his sword around to Jack, “Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest, if I deliver it, I get my life back,” He explained. 

“Ah, the dark side of ambition,” Jack continued to joke, his eyes shooting every so quickly over to where Elizabeth and Isabella were standing. 

“Oh, I prefer to see if as the promise of redemption,” James shot back, not wasting another second before he swung his sword down on Jack, the three men quickly jumping into action. 

Isabella seemed to freeze up for a moment, not quite knowing how things managed to escalate so quickly, but here they were. Elizabeth, on the other hand, quickly ran after them, shouting for the men to stop, which Isabella had learned from her time upon the Pearl that was practically impossible, her older sister only paused when Will was pushed to the side. 

Isabella quickly caught up to Elizabeth, her sword still at her side as she tried to think of what she could do to help, since Elizabeth’s plan of shouting at them wasn’t working as well as she would’ve hoped, “Elizabeth,” She demanded, getting her attention, “Stay with the chest, I’ve still got my sword, I’ll go after them,” Isabella decided, finally being able to think straight again now that the men were a little further away from the two of them. 

Her sister hesitantly nodded, crossing her arms as she sat down on the ground, clearly not very pleased with their situation, “Fine, just- don’t let Will get hurt, please,” She begged, her eyes still locked onto the men that weren’t giving up on their brawl. 

She nodded in agreement, “Of course, we’ll be back soon… I hope,” She mumbled, pulling her sword out of its holster as she finally set off after the men again, hoping to catch up to them before anything too tragic could happen. 

Once things got settled they could handle this like adults, and hopefully, everything would work out for the best, because it had to. 


	13. Chapter 13

It didn’t take long for Isabella to catch up to the three men, they had just reached the tree line, and she was about to pull out her own sword and jump into the fight to try and get them to think straight or something, but just as soon as she reached them, Jack tripped over himself and fell to the ground, snatching something up from the sand before he jumped back to his feet and bolted into the woods, leaving the other two to follow after him. 

James wasted no time in pulling Will back down to the sand, pushing him down and kicking the sand up straight into his face, Isabella just caught the end of their conversation as she caught up, “By your leave, Mr. Turner,” He mock bowed before running after Jack. 

“Will!” Isabella exclaimed, quickly helping him to his feet, and brushing some sand out of his eyes, “Come on,” She urged, wasting no time as she pulled the man behind her, trying to catch up to Jack and James, who already had quite the lead on them. 

Thankfully, Will recovered quickly and the two of them ran after Jack, Isabella just managed to catch a glimpse of him as he ran inside a crumbling building, James hot on his heels. 

“Stay outside,” Will called, wasting no time as he ran straight into the building. 

She didn’t bother listening though, instead high tailing it after him as Will grabbed onto a long rope dangling from the ceiling as he watched James and Jack fight for the key. 

“Jack!” Isabella couldn’t help but shriek when James pushed him off the side of the stairs. 

Thankfully, Jack had managed to snag one of the other ropes from the ceiling, causing Will to fly up, countering Jack and somehow managing to snatch the key from James in the process, landing swiftly on the top floor as Jack landed on the bottom next to Isabella, “By your leave, Mr. Norrington,” Will mocked, looking a bit too pleased with himself. 

James wasted no time in running after Will, and Jack quickly recovered too, noticing Isabella standing at the bottom of the stairs with a sword in her hand as well, “Here to wish me luck, luv?” He asked as he pushed past her to begin his chase again, “Sorry darling, but I don’t have time for good luck kiss, maybe after I get Jones to call off his beast,” He grinned, not looking back at her as he took the stairs two at a time. 

Isabella huffed and double timed it to keep up with his longer strides, “No,” She quickly argued, “I’m here to make sure you three don’t kill each other!” 

Jack wasn’t listening to her anymore, the two of them had reached the top floor and Jack was peeking his head out the side of the building, looking to see where the two of them had gone before following after them. 

Isabella let out a curse as she followed after Jack, at a safe distance hoping to keep her balance and not fall off the roof. She watched as Jack reached for the key clutched in James’ grasp, managing to snag it at the last minute and causing the two men to turn their attention to him once more. 

“Honestly!” Isabella sighed, knowing that if she tried to get involved at the moment she was more than likely to break her arm falling off the roof than get them to listen to her. 

James had managed to disarm Jack, sending his sword flying to the ground below the four of them, and Isabella was tempted to give her sword to Jack, especially now that the two men in front of him looked murderous. 

“Do excuse me while I kill the man who ruined my life,” James scowled, taking a step into Jack. 

“Be my guest,” Will offered. 

“Will!” Isabella accused, making sure that all of them knew she was still there and didn't plan on going anywhere at the moment. 

Jack held his hands up, the key still wrapped tightly in his grip, “Let us examine that for a moment, former Commodore, shall we?” Jack began, clearly having another trick up his sleeve, “Who was it that at the very moment you had a notorious pirate safely behind bars saw fit to free said pirate and take your dearly beloved all to hisself… aye? So who’s fault is it really that you’ve ended up a rum-pot deckhand what takes orders from pirates?” He sounded very sure of himself, but Isabella had a feeling James wasn’t going to listen to him so quickly. 

“Enough!” James shouted, swinging his sword down on Jack, but he wasn’t quite quick enough. 

Jack ducked on time, but before the sword could even get close to him, Isabella had thrown hers up over his shoulder, letting James bring his sword down on her, “Watch yer footing,” Jack called, winking up at her before quickly letting himself tumble down the roof in a graceful dive, landing neatly next to his discarded sword. 

James was staring slack jawed at her before he turned back to Will, a scowl on his face, “Unfortunately, Mr. Turner,” James continued, “He’s right!” 

“Isabella!” Will urged, defending himself as James began to fight with Will once more, “Get the key!” 

She gaped, finding the two of them ignoring her once more as they started to fight once again, and she knew she had to go after they key, wanting to get it out of Jack’s hands so she could decide what to do with it, since she seemed to be the only one who was thinking clearly!

Clamoring down the side of the crumbling building, she spotted Jack sauntering calmly away from the commotion behind him as he fiddled with the key, slipping it around his neck. 

“Jack!” She called, running after him again, not wanting him to get too far away from them at the moment. 

He spun around to face her, slipping his sword back into his belt as he held his arms out to her, meeting her halfway as she continued her jog towards him, “Ready to go kill us a kraken?” He asked, a large grin on his face. 

She shook her head, frowning up at him, “No Jack-” She began to argue, only to be cut off by the man in front of her talking again. 

“Ah, you’re here for this,” He began, holding up the key for her to finally get a good look at it, “And here I was thinking you wanted to congratulate me,” Jack huffed, wrinkling his nose down at her. 

Isabella felt her fingers dance around her sword, not wanting to physically fight him, but not knowing what other choice she had at the moment, “I don’t want to fight you, Jack,” She argued, frowning at him. 

“That’s the only way you’re going to get my key,” He counted, his hand now visibly on his sword as well. 

Without putting much thought into it, Isabella pulled her sword out from her belt and Jack copied her, causing her breath to immediately pick up at the thought of actually having to fight him. 

Without bothering to answer him, Isabella swung her sword down on the man, trying to keep herself focused as he quickly blocked her, waiting for her to make another move. The longer she swung her sword at him, the faster she realized that Jack was pulling his blows, not bothering to fight her, only being on the defense. 

She still managed to back him up slightly, getting the two of them farther away from the crumbling structure James and Will were still fighting on. Isabella reached forward to try to snag the key from around his neck, but Jack was quick to push their swords up, causing Isabella to lose her grip on hers as she stumbled forward into Jack, his sword coming down around her back as he forced her to crowd into him. 

The cold metal of the sword rested against the back of her neck, and she could see her discarded one out of the corner of her eye, but with her pressed up against Jack at the moment, she didn’t have much hope of getting to it currently. 

“Jack,” She breathed, hoping that he wouldn’t go too far in his attempts to keep his key, especially now that he clearly had the upper hand. 

“I’m keeping this,” He said, using his free hand to pull the key up between them, tucking it in his shirt after that. 

In one swift movement, Jack had sheathed his sword again, and released her, walking over to her discarded sword and holding it in his free hand as he took Isabella by the waist to pull her back towards the beach.

She balked at how quickly he moved, happy to not have a sword pressed against her neck anymore but also not happy with how he’d managed to dominate once more, and she knew she had to do something to get that key! 

Jack had looked like he was just about to talk when Isabella shoved him harshly in the side, but his grip on her waist didn’t falter, sending the two of them tumbling to the ground. Isabella landed hard on top of Jack, and he dropped her sword to pull her closer to him, almost protecting her from the fall. While Jack was catching his breath, she reached up to pull the key outside of his shirt, trying to pull it off the thin rope it was on. 

He recovered quickly, grabbing her by the wrists as he flipped the two of them over, so the key was dangling in her face now and Jack was hovering over her, “Cute,” He mocked, leaning down so that their noses were almost touching. 

“Get off,” She mumbled, trying to wiggle out from underneath him. 

Jack grinned, “Only ‘cause you asked so nicely,” He teased, moving to roll off of her. 

She wasn’t sure how neither of them noticed it, but as soon as Jack rolled to the side, he was gone! 

She sat up quickly, looking to her right to see that there was a grave dug up next to them, and Jack had fallen right inside. She leant over the hole to look down at him as he recovered from the fall, “I’ll give you a hand if you give me the key,” She bargained, reaching down for him to hand over the key to her. 

Jack was standing down, the hole wasn’t so deep he couldn’t get out by himself, but she wanted to see what he’d say. He shook his head, pushing her hand out of the way as he started to push himself up and out of the grave. 

Just as he was about to push himself out of the grave, Isabella realized what James and Will were up to now, and it wasn’t good news for any of them! 

“Jack, just stay there!” She shouted in warning, not wanting him to get rolled over by the giant wheel that was quickly heading their way. 

“What was that, love?” Jack asked, popping his head out of the grave just as the giant wheel reached them,  _ and literally ran over Jack _ . 

Isabella watched in shock as James and Will continued their fight on top of the giant wheel, and Jack’s legs popped out of the outside of the wheel, his body stuck halfway. 

She only let herself gape for a minute, and then she was snatching up her sword and running after them again, not wanting to throw herself into the wheel if she could help it. It only took a minute before Jack was falling out of the wheel, flat onto his back in front of Isabella’s feet. 

She ran over to his side, waiting to help him as she reached down to search for the necklace around his throat, but the key was gone, “Where did it go?” She asked, trying to pull him to his feet now. 

“Wheel!” Jack breathed once he was back on his feet, running after it again, this time he’d managed to snag her wrist in his grip as he began to tug her along behind him. 

Isabella felt her lungs begin to burn as they chased down the wheel that had started to pick up momentum slightly, Jack being the only reason she was actually able to keep up at the moment. She was so focused on running after the wheel she didn’t even realize that Jack had let go of her until he was hoisting himself into the wheel, leaving her to run by herself again. 

As soon as he wasn’t dragging her along again, she felt herself slow down, deciding that she’d be able to find them as soon as the wheel slowed itself down, it was pretty hard to miss it, anyways. But that thought didn’t last long, before she could even let herself take a breath, she realized that Elizabeth had found herself in the brush too, and was currently in the thick of a fight with a bunch of undead pirates! 

Isabella didn’t even have to think about jumping into the fight after seeing her sister toss a sword back and forth between herself and Pintel and Ragetti, not bothering to even think about how Jones’ crew got here so fast, there wasn’t any time for her to  _ think _ ! 

“What’s going on?” She called out once she reached Elizabeth’s side, slashing down one of the pirates at the same time. 

“Jones found us, they’re after the chest!” Elizabeth quickly explained, tossing her sword to Pintel. 

Isabella was quick to toss her sword to her sister, who clearly needed it much more than she did at the moment as she slashed at a strange looking pirate with a shark head. Isabella didn’t have time to dwell though, catching a sword from Ragetti that she used to slash down another pirate. 

The four of them didn’t waste too much time fighting and soon enough they were running back towards the beach, tossing the three swords back and forth between the four of them when they could. When Isabella reached the beach, making sure Elizabeth was still alongside her, she spotted Jack’s dark hair in the distance as he sprinted out towards their dinghy that they’d taken to shore. Isabella made sure Elizabeth had a sword just before she high-tailed it over to Jack, keeping up with her original plan of trying to get the key back from him. 

She reached him in record time, grabbing him by the shoulder just as he slammed the lid back down on his jar of dirt, “Jack!” She breathed, hoping she’d catch him with the key in his hand, but at her sudden appearance, Jack let out a shout, dropping his jar of dirt back into the boat and grabbing one of the oars, almost smacking her straight across the face with it. 

Instead, he was able to stop himself at the last minute, nearly sending himself off balance as he tried to stop his momentum, but he managed to regain his balance before anything else could happen, “Where’s the key?” She urged, frowning at him, almost forgetting about the undead pirates that had definitely caught up to them by now. 

Jack opened his mouth, as if he was going to answer her, but before he had the chance to, he’d snagged her around the waist, pulling her behind him and swinging his oar forward and clanging it against one of Jones’ men’s swords. 

She had no time to reprimand Jack now as he began to fight the pirate with only an oar, and she decided to heed him, grabbing the other oar to be helpful to Jack at the moment. Isabella quickly found herself fighting against a different undead pirate, only briefly hesitating when the wheel James and Will were still clinging to finally caught up to the rest of them, the two men stumbling out almost drunkenly just as the wheel fell to the ground. 

She didn’t have time to dwell on them though, only hoping that the two men would be able to quickly get on their feet to help them fight the rest of the pirates. Once she’d finally managed to knock down the pirate she was fighting for a moment, she turned only to see Jack hitting Will in the back of the head with his oar, sending Will falling into their dinghy, passed out. 

“Will!” Elizabeth immediately cried, running to his side as Isabella backed up to be closer to the boat. 

Jack quickly stopped Elizabeth from getting into the boat with Will, “Leave him lie! … Unless you plan to hit him with something,” He muttered, still brandishing his oar towards the other pirates. 

Isabella backed up even further, the back of her legs hitting the boat behind her, “We’re not coming out of this,” She warned, noticing the pirate she’d thought she just struck down was already back on his feet. 

“Not with the chest,” Norrington warned, suddenly grabbing the chest and pulling it up out of the boat, “Into the boat,” He urged, pulling away from them slightly. 

“You’re mad!” Elizabeth protested. 

James wasted no time in turning to her, almost like he planned on looking at her one last time, “Don’t wait for me,” He warned, and before Isabella knew what was happening, James ran off in the other direction, getting as far away from them as possible, and causing the undead pirates to follow after him in a split second. 

Isabella felt Jack’s hand on her shoulder, pulling her back as she watched James run off, the group of pirates hot on his heels, “I say we respect his final wish,” He decided, helping Isabella climb into the boat finally. 

“Aye!” Pintel was quick to agree, pushing the boat off the shore with Ragetti’s help once everyone was sitting inside. 

She passed the oar she was using as a weapon to Ragetti so he could row them back to the Pearl. Once they were rowing away from the island, she couldn’t help but look over her shoulder, trying to see James, but he was long gone, disappeared into the brush of the island, and she couldn’t help but feel guilty about how things went. 

Jack quickly pulled her focus away from the island, slinging an arm over her shoulder and running his hand through her wet hair, “Could’ve gone worse,” He muttered, his other hand tightly clutching his jar of dirt. 

She couldn’t help but wonder why he’d taken that to shore with them, and why he was fiddling with it right before the two of them had been attacked on the island, but before she had the chance to ask, Will was coming to, thanks to Elizabeth’s help. 

“What happened?” He demanded, sitting up rather abruptly. 

Isabella was glad that her sister was there to help him calm down, the two of them moving to the front of the boat, as if attempting to have a little bit of privacy at the moment, which seemed impossibly. Her focus kept being pulled by Jack though, whether it be by a tug of her hair, or his nails scratching at the back of her head, he wasn’t letting her focus on anything else but him at the moment. Once she realized that, she wasted no time in shoving his arm off of her, sending a glare his way, she didn’t plan on being distracted by Jack at the moment, especially after she was feeling guilty about leaving James so quickly. 

It didn’t take that long for the six of them to reach the Pearl, Elizabeth and Will going up first, with Isabella and Jack following, Mr. Gibbs immediately meeting them as soon as they climbed aboard, “Where’s the Commodore?” He asked, turning to Jack as Pintel and Ragetti started to argue about pulling the boat back on board. 

Jack was still clutching his jar of dirt, drumming his fingers over it, “Fell behind,” He muttered, wrinkling his nose. 

Gibbs only looked slightly surprised as he looked out towards the island, “My prayers be with him… Best not wallow in our grief. The bright side is, you’re back, and made it off free and clear,” Just as the words were out of his mouth, the Flying Dutchman made it’s grad appearance next to them, emerging from the water right next to the Pearl. Elizabeth was quick to grab onto Will’s arm, gasping in fright before Gibbs made a cross over his chest, “Lord, I done that!” He cursed. 

Isabella wasn’t sure what was going to happen, she was sure that Jack wouldn’t know what to do, but oddly enough, the man himself only pushed past Mr. Gibbs, a cocky smile on his face as he sent a wink towards Isabella, “I got this, mate,” He grinned, holding his jar of dirt above his head, “Oy! Fish face, lose something? Aye-” Just as Jack reached the top of the stairs, holding the jar above his head, he somehow lost his footing, falling down the steps to the deck below, causing almost everyone to cringe in response, just until he held the jar up, getting back to his feet, “Got it! Come to negotiate have you, you slimy git! Look what I go!” Isabella really couldn’t believe what she was seeing, sure Jack was always full of himself, but what really did he have to barter against Davy Jones… unless he’d managed to get the heart? 

She frowned, watching him taunt Jones, now singing at the pirate as he waved around the jar of dirt. Before Jack could even think about continuing to taunt him, Jones finally spoke up, “Enough!” He called out, the Flying Dutchman suddenly revealing it’s cannons, that were much too close to them for Isabella to feel safe in this situation. 

“Hard to Starboard!” Jack wasted no time in calling out. 

Isabella had no clue what she was doing when she repeated his order in a shout, but it was the only thing she could think of at the moment, especially because Gibbs seemed to hear her better, frantically turning the wheel of the Pearl so they were turning away from the Dutchman as fast as they could. 

“Raise the foreyard!” Will called. 

She could hear Jones shout something, but before she could even comprehend what he was saying, her ears were ringing with the sound of the cannons as the Dutchman started to fire on the Pearl. She nearly lost her footing as the Pearl was hit several times as they tried to outrun the Dutchman, but Isabella had a sinking feeling that they weren’t going to be able to outrun them for long. 

Jack was quick to run back up to the upper deck, taking over the wheel again just as Will and Isabella started to move the sails, hoping to get them some momentum, “Make fast!” She heeded, passing the ropes over towards Cotton so she could run back up to Jack to see if he had any sort of plan… hoping that maybe he  _ did  _ actually have the heart. 

Just as Isabella managed to climb the stairs, Elizabeth was speaking up, “She’s falling behind!” Elizabeth called, leaning over the railing as she watched the Dutchman fall behind. 

“Aye, we’ve got her!” Gibbs agreed, celebrating just as Isabella reached the upper deck. 

“We’re the faster?” Isabella asked with a frown, not understanding how this had been possible for them.

Gibbs nodded, “Against the wind the Dutchman beats us, but with the wind…” He trailed off, just as Will came up behind Isabella, Elizabeth hot on his heels. 

“We’ve got her advantage,” He agreed. 

“Aye,” Gibbs finished. 

Isabella couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong though, it seemed like there was no way that they could outrace the Dutchman, but here they were… Some of the crew was already celebrating, and it didn’t seem like they should just yet, something just felt off to her, and with one glance at Jack she could tell he wasn’t too comfortable either. 

Will wasted no time in running up to Jack, who was balancing his jar of dirt on the Pearl’s railing, “My father is on that ship,” He urged, “If we can outrun her, we can take her, we should turn and fight!” 

Jack’s uneasiness cleared from his face as soon as Will approached him, “Why fight when you can negotiate?” He asked, drumming his fingers on the jar again, “All one needs in the proper leverage,” His grin suddenly faltered when something heavy hit the bottom of the Pearl, nearly knocking them all off their feet, and sending Jack’s jar of dirt straight to the bottom deck of the Pearl, shattering on impact. 

Isabella had to grab onto the railing of the Pearl to steady herself before she could try to figure out what they had hit, but Jack was pushing past all of them, running down to the deck below to search through the dirt that was no all over the ship, muttering about something that she was too distracted to make out at the moment. 

“We must’ve hit a reef!” Someone called. 

Once Isabella had managed to regain her footing, she leaned over the edge of the Pearl, hoping to see if it was a reef, but as soon as she stuck her head over the side, she was being grabbed by her shoulders and pulled backwards alongside Elizabeth, “No, it’s not a reef! Get away from the rail!” Will warned, making sure the two sisters were far enough away for his liking before warning the others. 

“What is it?” Elizabeth asked. 

“The Kraken! To arms!” 

Isabella felt fear stab at her heart. The Kraken scared Jack, which she thought had to be a pretty big feat, and she’d heard plenty of stories about the famed beast, but the thought that it could be below the Pearl at the moment was horrifying. 

Will was working in an instant, “It’ll attack the starboard, I’ve seen it before. Roll out the cannons for my signal!” Isabella watched as Will took over the ship, making sure she had a sword on her before she realized that she had no clue where Jack had slipped off to. 

She moved to find Jack, hoping that he’d be able to give them some insight on how to fight for their lives, but before she could, tentacles were climbing up the side of the boat, ones that were twice the width of her, and who knows how long as they continued to tower over the Pearl.

“Steady!” Will called, holding off on the order to fire as he waited for the tentacles to climb higher and higher, getting much too intimidating for Isabella’s liking at the moment. 

“I think we’ve held long enough!” Pintel called, his voice wavering as he spoke. 

Isabella made sure to hold her weapon out towards the tentacles, “Fire!” Will called, and the cannons went off, loudly sending the Kraken tumbling back into the water below them. 

Some of the crew were quick to start cheering at the retreat of the creature, but she knew better. Before she could even warn the crew members that it would most likely be back soon, she was being pulled aside behind the cabin and somewhat away from the rest of the crew. 

She slapped at the arm of the person holding her, and it didn’t take her long to realize that Jack had pulled her back with him, “What are you doing?” She demanded, pulling out of his grasp, “We need a plan, that thing’s going to be back any second!” She urged, not bother to keep quiet. 

Jack wasted no time in shushing her, passing her a pistol and a container of water, “And we’ll be long gone by the time it does,” He grinned, taking the items back from her when he noticed she wasn’t doing anything with them and attaching them to her belt himself. 

“Great, what’s your plan, Captain?” She asked, happy that he seemed to have some idea of what they were going to do, not that she didn’t have faith in Will, but they were all still pretty new at this pirate stuff. 

Once Jack was done putting things on her, he snagged her hand, pulling her over to the edge of the boat where he pulled her in front of him, getting her right up next to the railing, “We’re running away,” He said, sounding proud of himself, as he offered her a hand to help her over the railing. 

“Excuse me?” She frowned, trying to push past him but finding herself stuck at the moment. 

Her brain caught up to her a second after that, realizing that Jack was just planning on taking her, not bothering to warn anyone else, and that’s why he’d brought her water and a gun, “Get into the boat, we need to hurry,” He warned, giving her a pointed look. 

She frowned, not understanding how he couldn’t get it, “You’re running away?” She repeated, “You’re- you’re just going to leave us alone?” She asked, not quite believing what she was saying. 

“No, I’m taking you with me, not up ye get,” He tried again, his time moving as if he was going to grab her around the waist and lift her up and over the edge, but she swatted his hands away at the last minute, not quite being able to believe what was happening. 

“I’m not going,” She really didn’t know what was happening, she was practically running on autopilot at the moment, not able to comprehend how she should feel about Jack leaving them, “You can’t ask me to do that,  _ you _ can’t do that!” She accused, her anger starting to come out fully now. 

Jack looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but he slung one of his legs over the side of the ship, clearly ready to abandon ship as soon as possible, “Last chance love, it’s me or the kraken,” He warned. 

She shook her head, not knowing quite what she was going to say to him, “I’m staying with my sister and crew,” She hissed, hoping that Jack knew just how upset she was with him, if there had been any chance of her going back to Beckett to secure his freedom it was long gone by now! 

Jack didn’t say anything as he continued his descent down the side of the Pearl, not bothering to look at her once she rejected his offer, so she decided to give him some parting words, “If we do survive I hope I never see you again, Sparrow,” She shouted, hoping he would hear her loud and clear down the side of the ship, but she turned away from him before she could know if he had, deciding it would be in her best interest to go help Will with whatever his new plan might be. 

“It’ll be back, we have to get off the ship,” Will called, looking for a solution. 

Still angry at Jack, Isabella was quick to pipe in, but still having enough sense not to mention that Jack had abandoned them, “There’s no boats, they’re all broken,” She managed to get out, knowing that the scowl on her face was impossible to hide. 

Will was quick to come up with a new plan, thankfully, “Pull the grates, get all the gunpowder onto the net into the cargo hold,” He ordered, sending the crew into a tizzy as they worked to follow his orders. 

Isabella was standing by Elizabeth as Will passed the older sister a rifle, “Whatever you do, don’t miss,” He warned. 

Elizabeth nodded in response, grabbing the gun from him, “As soon as you’re clear,” She agreed. 

Gibbs wasted no time in giving Will the bad news that there was no more gunpowder for them to use, and luckily, Isabella had seen first hand about a year ago how well Rum worked when you needed a fire, “Load the rum,” She offered, trying to pull herself from her stupor that Jack had put her in by running down to the rum cellar, knowing that burning his rum would only spite the man who abandoned them, and hoping that the crew would follow suit. 

“Aye,” She heard from behind her once she set off to start working on Will’s plan of action, “The rum too!” Gibbs agreed, getting the crew back to work immediately. 

Just when Isabella reached the top deck, throwing her crate of rum into the cargo hold with the rest of their ammunition, the ship lurched again, clearly letting them know that the kraken wasn’t going to give up that easily. There was a deep growl from below and before anyone knew what was happening, the ship was rocking from the pressure that the kraken hit the Pearl with, the tentacles invading the lower part of the ship, sending the crew scrambling. 

“Haul away!” Will called. 

Isabella watched in morbid fascination as the crew began to raise Will up with the cargo, the Kraken’s tentacles peeking out from underneath the boat every few seconds, making Isabella that much more nervous every time they got that much closer to her. 

Somehow, she’d managed to get hold of an axe, swinging at the kraken when she could help and running her for her while trying to keep a close eye on Elizabeth and Will, since their plan was the only real one they had. 

She’d found Elizabeth once again when her sister was standing by the Captain’s cabin, aiming at the cargo with the rifle Will had given her, ready to shoot. 

Before Elizabeth had the chance to, her legs were being pulled out from underneath her, and she dropped the rifle as she was pulled backwards by the kraken, “Elizabeth!” Isabella quickly called, trying to catch up to her sister, but she was cut off when a tentacle came slamming down in front of her. 

She gasped, and skidded backwards, knowing that all she could do to save Elizabeth now was take the rifle and shoot the cargo, hopefully wounding the beast in the process, if only she could get to it fast enough. 

Just when she turned around to get to the gun, another crew member had grabbed it from the floor, only to get swept up by the kraken a moment later, sending the gun flying into the air and at the top of the stairs. Isabella wasted no time in racing to where it fell, hoping that she still would have enough time to save her sister. 

Taking the stairs two at a time, she fell when she almost reached the top, crawling up the rest of the stairs to try and reach the gun, feeling desperate. Just when her hand fell on the rifle, a black boot came down on the rifle, stopping her from lifting it up. 

She pushed at the boot for a moment, wanting to get the man to move before looking up, going to scold whoever it was, but when she saw Jack standing there, looking down at her, she faltered, not knowing what to say. 

Once she was done trying to wrestle the rifle from him, he reached down, one hand picking up the rifle, the other helping her to her feet, so she could hang onto his arm as he aimed at the net of cargo. 

Isabella’s heart was racing as the kraken wrapped it’s tentacles around the cargo and Will released himself, falling to the deck below. Jack, on the other hand, was a vision of calmness as he aimed and finally fired once the cargo began to fall free, sending gunpowder and rum up in flames! 

She was quick to dig her face into Jack’s shoulder, trying to protect herself from the flying debris and heat that quickly surrounded them. It didn’t take long for Jack to force her to pull her head out of his shoulder so she could look up and see what was going on, “You came back?” She asked, surprise clear in her voice, not quite wanting to let go of his arm in case this was a dream she was having right before she died a horrible death from the kraken. 

Jack flashed her a grin before he snagged her around the waist and pulled her to the lower deck where all the other survivors were gathering, trying to come up with a new plan. She was more than thankful to see Elizabeth standing next to Will, and she wasted no time in pulling herself away from Jack and pulling the two of them into a tight hug. 

“Did we kill it?” Marty asked once he was back on his feet. 

Gibbs was quick to disagree, shaking his head, “No, we just made it angry, we’re not out of this yet… Captain, orders?” He asked, turning to Jack. 

Jack’s eyes flashed, “Abandon ship, into the longboat,” He ordered, pointing over the side of the ship where he’d left the boat he previously tried to abandon them on. 

“Jack, the Pearl!” Gibbs couldn’t help but argue. 

Jack shrugged though, “She’s only a ship, mate,” He countered. 

Isabella couldn’t help but feel proud of the man, and before she knew it, she was frowning, a thought coming back to her… He came back for them, even when he knew he could very well die, especially since the kraken was after  _ him,  _ and a part of her, a small part of her started to entertain the idea of returning to Beckett for Jack’s freedom, she just wanted to show him how much this meant to her… and she didn’t think she could do it in a better way. 

“He’s right,” Elizabeth perked up, breaking Isabella from her thoughts, “We have to head for land.” 

Before Isabella knew what was happening, Elizabeth was pulling her aside as the others gathered some supplies that they would need while they tried to look for land, “Jack can’t come with us,” Elizabeth urged, wasting no time. 

“What are you talking about?” Isabella demanded, frowning up at her sister, “He just saved us!” 

Elizabeth shook her head, “I know, but the kraken is after him, we’re only going to make it to land safely if he’s gone… and I don’t think any of us will be able to convince him to stay but you,” She confessed. 

Isabella was shocked, there was no way she’d be able to convince him to die for them! Not just because he wouldn’t do it, but because she couldn’t condemn him to  _ death _ ! 

“Elizabeth I can’t!” She argued, her eyes going wide with the realization. 

Her older sister shook her head, “You need to try, otherwise, the kraken will just follow us, and I don’t think we’ll be able to survive on a longboat…” She trailed off. 

Isabella of course understood what Elizabeth was saying, she just didn’t know why it had to be here… and she knew there was no way she’d be able to force him to stay on the boat, but she supposed she did have to try her hardest, “Fine, I’ll talk to him… just get onto the boat,” She said, her eyes no longer on Elizabeth as she spotted Jack saying his goodbyes to the Pearl. 

She quickly left her sister’s side, walking straight up to Jack’s side as he stood by the mast, overlooking the Pearl, “Thank you, Jack,” Isabella prompted, getting his attention. 

“We’re not free yet, though,” He quickly commented. 

Isabella shook her head, trying to stop herself from getting too emotional about this, “You came back… I knew you were a good man. I- I was going to go back to Beckett, for  _ your _ freedom, you know?” She confessed, hoping he’d understand how much his gesture meant to her before she decided to ask for even more from him. 

Jack quirked an eyebrow up in her direction, “Ye don’t have to do that, once we get back on land, we’ll make sure that we’ve got a place to go, far away from  _ him _ ,” He practically sneered, “Now, let’s get on our boat!” He urged again, waiting for her to move first. 

“Jack…” Isabella continued, not knowing how to bring this up. He stepped forward, but she was quick to bring her hands up to push him backwards, not letting him get any closer to the boat that they were leaving on soon, “I don’t know how to say this… it’s not after us,” She heard her voice crack, but she knew she had to push through, “It’s after you… the only way for us to survive is for you to stay,” She wasn’t looking at him as she spoke, not trusting herself enough to, but at least she was able to get her words out. 

Before Jack could even say anything against her, an idea hit her, “I… I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but please Jack, I can’t condemn my sister by letting you go with them. On the other hand, I can stay with you, and the Pearl, I won’t leave,” She confessed, still not letting herself look up at him as her hands tightly clutched at his shirt. 

Jack’s hands suddenly covered hers, but she still wasn’t able to look up at him, the guilt becoming almost too much for her, “You said I was a good man, it wasn’t that long ago that you promised me the rewards that follow, if I’m to stay behind, I intend to collect,” She finally let herself look up at him, confusion clearly written across her face, she really couldn’t believe what she was hearing… he really was going to stay behind for them? 

“I don’t understand?” She asked, not pushing him away as Jack slid his arms around her waist, pulling her that much closer to him. 

He cocked his head to the side as he stared down at her, “You’re going to get on that boat, and find land, but not before you show me the rewards that follow,” He repeated, a soft smile playing at the corner of his lips. 

She blinked, trying to remember what she meant by the ‘rewards that follow’ that he kept bringing up, and it suddenly hit her, reminding her of just that past day where she’d flirted with Jack to try and get Elizabeth’s papers back, and her face immediately flushed red. 

She didn’t know what she meant by that in the moment, but Jack clearly had a good idea of what he wanted, and if she was condemning him, she wasn’t just going to leave him without giving him his last wish. Without putting much more thought into what she was doing, she moved her hands further up his body, grabbing the collar of his shirt before pulling him down to meet her, their lips crashing together as Jack eagerly caught up with her mindset. While she was in control of their kiss for a moment having Jack pinned up against the mast, he quickly took control, spinning the two of them around and dragging one hand up her back so he could wrap his fingers up in her hair, his tongue now asking for entrance. 

Isabella tried not to let herself get too caught up in whatever was going on between her and Jack, at first she tried to remind herself this was just her saying goodbye to him, but the longer she was wrapped up in his embrace, the harder it became for her to remember the situation that the two of them were in, and on top of it all, it was a strange thing for her to be doing, especially since she’d never been this intimate with a man before, it was almost scary! But maybe it was more exciting than so… 

Jack was the first to pull away, and she struggled to catch her breath after their embrace, not knowing how exactly she’d gotten that worked up with it all, but a part of her knew that she definitely didn’t want to leave him behind on the Pearl now. 

“You should get on your boat,” He said, gesturing out with his arm towards the boat.

"Oh, wait," She remembered his piece that she still had braided into her hair, "I want to give you this back," Her hands went up to try to quickly untangle the piece from her hair. 

Jack stopped her quickly, "Keep it, something to remember the Pearl by," He said with a shrug, "Now get going, love," He prompted again.  

She took one look back at him, feeling her heart sink at the thought of leaving him behind, but knowing she was only doing it to keep herself and more importantly Elizabeth safe, “I’m not sorry, Jack, but thank you,” She decided, not trusting herself to be able to say anything else to him, not wanting to get too emotional. 

Jack flashed her a sad grin, pulling her back to him by her arm and leaning down quickly, giving her another peck, moving his lips against hers as he spoke, “Pirate,” He grinned, finally pushing her away from him and towards the boat. 

Isabella let herself get pushed away, knowing that if she did she wasn’t sure that she would be able to leave the Pearl. As she climbed down into the longboat with the rest of the survivors, she found herself trying to fight back a few heavy tears at the thought of leaving Jack to his death, just shortly after they abandoned James, and had half their crew die from the kraken, it was all a bit too much for her to handle… but she stood by what she said to Jack, she wasn’t sorry. The only reason she was here for the second time was for Elizabeth, and she wasn’t planning on letting anything happen to her sister while she could still help it, especially because Elizabeth was the most important person to her on this ship, and she would do anything to keep her safe. 

“Where’s Jack?” Will asked as soon as she climbed down into the boat. 

Isabella forced herself to take a breath before answering him, not knowing what exactly to say about Jack, “... He elected to stay behind to give us a chance,” She finally mumbled, leaning into Elizabeth as she spoke. 

“Go!” Her older sister urged, wrapping a strong arm around Isabella as the boat took off, getting as far away from the Pearl as they possibly could. 

When the haunting growl of the Kraken met their ears again, Elizabeth tried to pull her sister’s face away from the sight, but Isabella knew that she had to watch the ship go down, she had to deal with what she forced Jack to do, because if she didn’t see it, she would’ve always had some sliver of hope that Jack would somehow survive and that he’d be able to come back to them somehow, but after she watched the ship get pulled under by the kraken, she knew that he was gone for good…

* * *

She didn’t know exactly how long they were left drifting out over the open sea, looking for land, but it couldn’t have been longer than three days or so, which was pretty perfect timing for the small group of survivors that only had minimal rations left by the time they reached land. 

It didn’t take Isabella long to recognize the dense forests that they had found themselves in, and she was quickly brought back to when Jack had taken them to see Tia Dalma all those weeks ago, she wasn’t too surprised that the sea had brought them back here… She just didn’t know why they were brought back here. 

When they got even closer to the hut, Isabella felt tears prick her eyes when she realized the light that was surrounding them was coming from natives holding up candles along the river as they made their way towards Tia Dalma’s hut, all of the people humming a soft tune as they got closer. 

Tia Dalma was waiting at the door, quickly ushering the group of survivors inside. Once inside, Isabella gratefully accepted a blanket from Tia Dalma, and shortly after, a hot mug of tea, which she felt like she desperately needed after being out at sea for so long. 

“Against the cold. And Sorrow,” Tia Dalma offered when she gave her the cup, “It’s a shame, I know you’re thinking that with the Pearl you could’ve freed your father’s soul…” She trailed off, turning to Will now. 

Will looked bitter, not sipping at his tea at all, “It doesn’t matter now, the Pearl’s gone, along with its’ Captain,” He shrugged. 

“Aye,” Gibbs agreed, “And the world already seems a bit less bright. He fooled us all, right to the end. But I guess that honest streak finally won out. To Jack Sparrow!” He called, lifting his cup up as he toasted Jack. 

“Never another like Captain Jack,” Ragetti agreed, raising his own cup. 

Soon everyone was joining the toast, “He was a good man,” Isabella agreed, raising her own mug. 

She knew Jack was gone for good, she saw the Pearl go down, and she knew there was no where for him to go once they left, all the other boats were destroyed, and there was no way he would’ve been able to escape on debris, not with the kraken after him! 

“If there was anything to be done to bring him back, Isabella…” Will tried to comfort her, but she didn’t really care to be comforted at the moment, she just wanted to grieve, and now that they were back on land, she finally had time to do just that. 

Tia Dalma quickly cut in before Isabella could even think about telling Will she didn’t care to hear it, “Would you do it? Hm?” She asked Will, her eyes going wide before she spun around to face Isabella, getting right up in her face, “What would you?” She demanded, “What would any of you be willing to do? Will you sail to the ends of the earth and beyond to fetch back Jack and his precious Pearl?” She asked, making sure to ask each of them. 

Isabella had no clue what Tia Dalma was talking about, Jack was  _ gone _ , the kraken killed him and took him straight to Jones’ Locker, there was no coming back from that… right? 

“Would you?” Tia Dalma prompted again, the excitement in her voice still evident. 

Without thinking, Isabella stood up, her tea forgotten as she wrapped her blanket tighter around her shoulders, “Yes,” She said without hesitation, prompting the others to answer as well. 

Once everyone had agreed that they would go to the ends of the earth and beyond to get Jack back, Tia Dalma flashed a smile, “Alright, but if you’re going to brave the weird and haunted shores at the world’s end… then you will need a Captain who knows those waters,” She said, still grinning mysteriously. 

Isabella turned her head at the sound of heavy footsteps coming down the staircase in the back of Tia Dalma’s hut. Soon, stained brown boots came into view, along with dark trousers, a thick coat, and finally a familiar face. 

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing, she’d seen him die just last year, and here he was, the undead pirate standing right in front of them, the same man who had kidnapped her sister not too long ago! “So tell me, what’s become of my ship?” Barbossa asked, looking far too pleased with himself as his monkey jumped on his shoulder, chirping happily as he did so.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Elizabeth perked up immediately, clearly affected by him showing up here. 

Like the others, Isabella couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but a much bigger part of her knew that she’d also watched this man die right in front of her eyes, and here he was, maybe there really was a way they could get Jack back, and clearly Tia Dalma knew what she was doing. 

“And you were supposed to be Miss Turner, things don’t always work out how we think they should,” Barbossa was quick to counter. 

“What’s going on?” Will demanded, standing up now as he turned to face the Captain. 

Tia Dalma chose to interject now, “Returning from World’s End is not easy, you need someone who’s been there to show you your way, and who better than a Captain?” She grinned, moving to stand next to Barbossa as she spoke. 

Isabella frowned, this all just seemed a little too good to be true, she really couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but here they were, “You’re willing to get Jack back?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at the man.

“Aye, if it means I get me ship back,” Barbossa countered, raising an eyebrow at her, as if he was challenging her. 

Although his reasoning seemed a little strange, Isabella wanted to get Jack back, and she didn’t know how else she’d be able to do so, so she was going to have to trust Tia Dalma and Barbossa for now, “Alright, I’ll go,” She agreed for real this time, now knowing what she was getting herself into, “If it get Jack back I’ll do whatever it takes.” 

“Welcome aboard,” Barbossa said, bowing his head slightly to her as she marched forward to shake his hand. 

She knew it might not be the smartest thing she’d ever do, but she didn’t care at the moment, all she knew was that they were going to bring Jack back from wherever it might’ve been that he was sent off to, even if it was the last thing she did. 


	14. Chapter 14

Isabella and Elizabeth were paddling swiftly through a river in Singapore, the older singing as they went, the tune very haunting to Isabella as they made their way to their destination. 

She was happy that after their dealings with Barbossa and Tia Dalma they had been able to get started so quickly, but there were so many factors that they had to deal with before they could even start on their way to the World’s End, and finally their journey was coming to an end, the last thing they needed was the maps, and a crew and ship wouldn’t help either, but those were a little bit easier to obtain. All she could hope right now was that everyone was following the plan and everything would work out for them in the end. 

As they rowed, it was hard to ignore the British soldiers that were running around, and Isabella was happy that the two of them were both sporting rather large hats, fearing that they would be easily recognized if they were spotted. They pulled their boat into the docks, quickly tying it up before walking further into the town, Elizabeth still singing her haunting tune as they walked. 

Before they could get very far, Isabella was pleased to see that they had caught someone’s attention. Several men suddenly appeared in front of them, one of them continuing where he had cut Elizabeth off, “And beggars, never say we die,” He grinned, looking down at the two women, “A dangerous song to be singing for anyone ignorant of its meaning. Particularly for women… Particularly for women alone,” He grinned, flashing them all of his yellowing teeth, the men behind him shifting closer to the two sisters. 

Before either of the sisters could speak, Barbossa was making himself known, the first part of their plan coming into play already, “What makes you think they’re alone?” He asked, his voice ringing out loud and clear for all of them to hear. 

“You’re their protector?” The man asked, frowning. 

The man barely had time to react before Elizabeth surged forward, slipping behind the man and putting her knife straight up against his neck, and at the same time, Isabella pulled out her sword, pointing it at the man who threatened them as well, “And what makes you think we need protecting?” Elizabeth hissed. 

Barbossa raised a hand, signaling for Isabella and Elizabeth to lower their weapons so he could bring back the peace, “Your master’s expectin’ us,” He explained, “An unexpected death would cast a slight fall on our meeting,” He finished. 

Isabella slid her sword back into its sheath, watching as Elizabeth released the man, “Follow us,” The man said, once he made sure he was still in one piece, the group of men leading the way for the three of them to follow. 

Isabella found herself on Barbossa’s left, Elizabeth on his right as they walked side by side down the streets, all of them sharing the mindset to keep out of the way of the British soldiers, “Have you heard anything from Will?” Elizabeth whispered to Barbossa, talking loud enough for Isabella to hear as well. 

“I trust young tuner to acquire the charts, and the two of you to remember your place in the presence of Captain Sao Feng,” He hissed back, sending both of the sisters a pointed look. 

“Is he really that terrifying?” Isabella asked, not quite believing this man could be that scary after all that they have faced after the first time pirates came into their lives. 

Barbossa shrugged, “He’s much like myself, but absent my merciful nature and sense of fair play,” He answered. 

Isabella would’ve laughed if it weren’t for their situation, choosing instead to share a quick grin with Elizabeth before her eyes went back to the men that were leading them to Sao Feng. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take them that long to reach Sao Feng’s hideout, the three of them being granted access immediately, “Hao,” The first man greeted them, ushering them inside the hideout quickly, “Weapons,” He then asked Barbossa, sending a pointed look towards Isabella’s sword as well, urging her to take it off and place it on the table next to Barbossa’s weapons. 

Once Isabella and Barbossa had given up all of their weapons, the three of them tried to slip past, but they were quick to stop Elizabeth in her place, “Both women should give up their weapons, no?” He asked, holding a hand out as if to offer her a chance to rid herself of her weapons. 

Turns out, Elizabeth had a bit more on her than Isabella had suspected, and she couldn’t help but to be impressed by her sister’s personal arsenal, and soon after she seemed to have rid herself of all of her weapons, they were finally allowed to speak with Sao Feng. 

She didn’t know what she expected Sao Feng to look like, but when she got her first good look at the man after the three of them bowed to the man, she realized that this was exactly what she would’ve expected, he looked as regal and ruthless as had been explained to her. 

“Captain Barbossa,” The man greeted once they had straightened up from their bow, “Welcome to Singapore. I understand you have a request to make of me?” He asked, bowing his head. 

Barbossa nodded as he stepped forward, and Isabella used this as her chance to look around, trying to take in all of the servants and soldiers surrounding them through the steam, it looked like she had expected it to, which sadly, didn’t make her feel any more comfortable in this situation. 

“More of a proposal to put to ye,” Barbossa continued, “I have a venture underway and happen to find myself in need of a ship and a crew.” 

Sao Feng frowned, “This is an odd coincidence…” He trailed off. 

“Because you happen to have a ship and a crew you don’t need?” Elizabeth perked up. 

The Captain shook his head, his glare lingering on Elizabeth for a moment longer than she would’ve liked, “ No. Because, earlier this day, not far from here, a thief broke into my most revered uncle’s temple and tried to make off with these,” He paused to hold up the charts that they’d been looking for, “The navigational charts. The route to the farthest gate. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this venture of yours took you to the world beyond this one? ” Isabella definitely didn’t like the gleam in his eyes as he asked them that, he clearly knew more than they thought… 

“It would strain credulity at that,” Barbossa wasted no time in answering. 

Sao Feng flashed the trio a grin before waving his arm towards two of his men that stood a little behind him, over a large pool of water. The men seemed to heed his order, and right in front of their very eyes, the two men dragged another man out of the water, showing them Will’s familiar face as he sputtered for air. 

“This is the thief, is this face familiar to you?” Sao Feng wasted no time in asking. 

Isabella only shook her head in response, forcing herself to remain impassive, she knew it had to be much harder for Elizabeth, but hopefully none of them would blow their cover. 

At their denial, Sao Feng only shrugged in response, slipping out a dagger from his robes, “Then I guess he has no further need for it,” He lunged towards Will, only stopping short of his neck when Elizabeth let out a gasp, and he turned back to them, now looking only angry at their lies, “So, you come into my city, betray my hospitality!” He demanded. 

Barbossa shook his head, trying to ease the tension, “Sao Feng, I assure you, I had no idea,” He tried to diffuse the tension, but they were too far gone at this point. 

“That he would get caught!” The man accused, his face contorting in anger, “You intend to attempt a voyage to Davy Jones’ Locker, when I cannot help but wonder, why?” He continued, pressing them for an answer. 

Barbossa wasted no time in tossing a gold piece over towards Sao Feng, the latter catching it easily, “The song has been sung, the time is upon us, we must convene the Brethren Court, as one of the nine pirate lords you must honor the call,” Barbossa insisted. 

Without thinking about what she was doing, Isabella’s hand came up to grab Jack’s piece that he left with her. Shortly after they’d convened with Tia Dalma, she unbraided the coin from her hair, finding a clasp in Tia Dalma’s cabin that would keep the coin in place so she could fashion it into a necklace. She could practically feel it thrumming against her skin, in the same way that Sao Feng was holding up Barbossa’s piece to his ear, something was happening, and they needed Jack back to fix it! 

“There’s a price on all our heads… it’s true,” He began, lowering the coin to address Barbossa again, “Since it seems that the only way a pirate can turn a profit anymore is betraying other pirates…” He trailed off. 

Isabella couldn’t help but perk up now, feeling that they were close to convincing Sao Feng to help them, “The first Brethren Court gave you the rule of the sea,” She insisted, happy Barbossa caught her up a little bit on all things pirates in the past couple of weeks, “And that rule has been challenged by Lord Cutler Beckett,” She hissed, feeling herself shiver at the mention of his name. 

She knew Beckett couldn’t be happy that she never came back, but luckily she’d managed to avoid his soldiers pretty well since Jack’s death, and hopefully she’d manage to avoid him for the rest of her life! 

Sao Feng’s eyes cut over to her, as if noticing her for the first time, “Against the East India Trading Company, what value is the Brethren Court? What can any of us do?” He demanded. 

“You can fight!” Elizabeth perked up, pushing back against one of Feng’s soldiers when he grabbed her shoulder at her outburst, “Get off me! You are Sao Feng, the Pirate Lord of Singapore! Would you have that come to an end?” She insisted, trying to scare him into complying. 

Isabella caught on quickly, stepping next to her sister and forgetting all about Barbossa’s warning, “The most notorious pirates from around the world are uniting against our enemy, and yet you still sit here, cowering in your bath water,” She finished, coolly. 

“The Swann sisters,” Sao Feng mused, “There is more to the two of you than what meets the eye, isn’t there? And the eye does not go wanting… But I can’t help but notice, you have failed to answer my question; What do you seek in Davy Jones’ Locker?” He demanded, again. 

“Jack Sparrow,” Isabella didn’t even hesitate in answering, “He’s one of the nine pirate lords.” 

Sao Feng didn’t seem to appreciate her answer very much, “The only reason I would want Jack Sparrow returned from the land of the dead is so I can send him back myself!” He hissed. 

“Jack Sparrow held one of the nine pieces of eight,” Barbossa began, “He passed along his piece but failed to pass along his title to a successor before he died, so we must go and get him,” He pressed, the three of them trying very hard now to get Sao Feng’s help. 

Sao Feng’s eyes narrowed in on the piece around Isabella’s neck for a split second before his attention was brought elsewhere, “So, you admit, you have deceived me!” Before any of them could figure out what he was talking about, Sao Feng was pulling out his sword, “Weapons!” He called. 

The men around them were quick to pull their weapons out as well, holding their swords out towards the trio still weaponless, “I assure you, our intentions are strictly honorable,” Barbossa replied, not showing any hesitation. 

Just then, swords were tossed up through the floorboards for the trio to grab, Isabella snatching hers out of the air to protect herself from the men surrounding them. Sao Feng wasted no time in running over to one of his men and holding his sword up to his throat, “Drop your weapons or I kill the man!” He threatened. 

“Kill him!” Barbossa was quick to counter, “He’s not our man!” 

Will perked up now, “If he’s not with you, and he’s not with us, then who’s he with?” Will asked, wriggling around with his hands still bound behind him. 

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a group of British soldiers burst through the entrance, immediately starting a fight with them all. Isabella wasted no time in swinging one of her swords down at one of the men next to her before ducking behind some of Sao Feng’s men, trying to get herself closer to the charts that he’d put down next to him earlier. 

Will and Elizabeth, she noticed, were quick to reunite and the two of them were cutting men down left and right, Barbossa of course was keeping everyone a good distance away from him with his skilled sword movements. Sao Feng quickly found himself distracted by Will, who tried to strike the man down before pushing him further into the corner while the rest of Sao Feng’s men found themselves distracted with trying to get past the East India Trading Company. 

She spotted the charts on Sao Feng’s chair, quickly snatching them up and tucking them into her shirt, ditching one of her swords in the process as she made her way back to Barbossa, “Let’s go!” She shouted, hoping that he would listen to her, and Will and Elizabeth would follow suit. 

It took her until they were out on the street to notice that Elizabeth and Will had been separated from them, and she just had to trust that they’d meet up soon, as long as nothing happened. She didn’t have too long to dwell on them, as soon as her and Barbossa started to run over the cobblestone streets, they reached a bridge with several British soldiers blocking their way. 

Her and Barbossa didn’t even have a chance to say anything before one of the men was stepping forward, his eyes locked on her, “Miss Swann,” He greeted, “I’ve heard Lord Beckett’s been looking for you,” The man sneered, clearly knowing their history. 

Isabella felt her blood boil at the mention of his name, but she wasn’t going to let this man get the best of her with his words, “Give him my best, will you?” She grunted as she swung her sword at the man, noticing Barbossa to the left for her begin to attack two men at once. 

Barbossa was quick to knock one of his men off the bridge, Isabella having a little bit harder of a time disarming the man across from her, the two of them only pausing in their fight when a bright firework came zooming past them, literally passing underneath Barbossa’s sword and distracting the four of them still fighting. 

Barbossa was the first to recover, knocking the sword out of the British man’s hand before flipping him over the side of the bridge, Isabella following suit after a moment’s hesitation. 

It didn’t take long for the two of them to come back up to meet Will and Elizabeth near the docks, Isabella pulling the charts out from where she had stashed them as they met up again, “We got the charts,” She confessed, passing them over to Barbossa now that they had gotten themselves out of the cross fire. 

“Better yet,” Will perked up, “We have a crew and ship.” 

“Where’s Sao Feng?” Barbossa asked.

“He’ll cover our backs and meet us at Shipwreck Cove,” Will explained. 

Thankfully, Will wasted no time in showing them to their new ship, and with their crew reunited and the new crew provided by Sao Feng helping to get the ship out of the docks, it didn’t take long for them to be on their way. 

Once their ship was up and moving, Isabella finally let herself relax a little bit, sitting herself near the crate where Barbossa had laid down the charts, allowing herself to get familiar with them. From what Tia Dalma told them, it wasn’t going to be an easy journey to get Jack back, their initial trip to the World’s End was supposed to take several weeks as well, but she was quick to assure them that the journey back would be even harder. Of course this didn’t sway any of them, they had to get Jack back, after all. 

There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to do whatever it takes to get Jack back, the guilt she felt from leaving him on the Pearl so long ago still bothered her. She knew if they could get him back then everything would go back to normal… and a part of her realized that she’d spent so much time with the Pirate she couldn’t help but to  _ miss _ him. Being on a ship without Jack being there was much less charming, and although she’d learned to love the water and was very happy being helpful and as far away from Port Royal as possible, there was something about Jack that made being there that much more  _ fun _ . 

Their journey to the World’s End didn’t start off too drole, they were in pretty high spirits considering where they’d been going, but once the days started to turn into weeks, things started to go downhill. 

Isabella tried to be as helpful as possible, but when the temperature started to drop and the crew was constantly covered in frost, she found herself mainly huddled up next to someone, swaddled in a blanket or jacket, or anything that she could use to keep herself slightly warm. 

Currently, she was sitting next to a man she’d come to know as Tai Huang, the two of them looking over the charts as they tried to decipher them, the two of them slightly huddled together to try to share some of their nonexistent warmth. 

She spun the charts around, over and over, searching for something that would give them a clew to get Jack back, but the more she spun around the charts, the more confused she got, they really didn’t make sense! 

It didn’t take long for Will to join the two of them, trying his hand as deciphering some of the phrases. Will and Isabella often looked over the charts together, but neither of them had been successful yet, and Will seemed to be getting much more frustrated over them than Isabella was.

“Nothing here is set,” Will mumbled, “These can’t be as accurate as modern charts,” He continued, looking up to Huang to gauge his response. 

“No, but it leads to more places,” The man next to her shook his head. 

Isabella turned the charts again, reading a familiar phrase that she’d stumbled across several times, “Over the edge, over again… Sunrise sets flash of green… Care to interpret, Barbossa?” Isabella finally asked their Captain, knowing he normally seemed to have some sort of understanding for the confusing charts, more than the rest of them did, anyways. 

“Ever gazed upon the green flash, Mister Gibbs?” Barbossa perked up, somehow still standing tall despite the icicles hanging off his beard. 

Gibbs was quickly pulled into the conversation, “I reckon I’ve seen my fair share. It happens on rare occasion. At the last glimpse of sunset, a green flash of light shoots up into the sky. Some go their whole lives without seeing it, some claim to have seen it that ain’t, some say…” He trailed off, getting cut off by Pintel. 

“It signals when a soul comes back to this world from the  _ dead _ !” The pirate exclaimed, sounding a little too excited about the prospect, mumbling a soft ‘sorry’ when Gibbs shot him a scolding look. 

“Trust me, it’s not gettin’ to the land of the dead that’s a problem… it’s gettin’ back!” Barbossa promised, putting an end to their conversation just as their ship slipped into the darkness between two huge ice walls, sending the crew into silence once more as Barbossa continued to steer them on their way. 

Things started to get a little bit easier once they had gotten past the cold part of their journey, the longer they traveled, the better the weather began to get, and it didn’t take more than a couple of days until their ship was moving forward through almost eerily calm waters, traveling like that for several days. 

After they’d gotten through the cold, Isabella found herself settling into a schedule of working more at night, and sleeping through most of the morning, preferring the gentleness of the water at night and the stars that surrounded them too. 

She was left in charge of steering the ship as the sun began to set, watching as the stars began to pop up around them, more of them showing up in the sky than she’d seen yet. She was so distracted that she didn’t notice Barbossa had walked up behind to reclaim the wheel and give her a little break.

“I’ll be taking over again,” He informed her, startling her into letting go of the wheel. 

She offered a smile to Barbossa, the two of them got along a lot better than she ever would’ve expected after he’d kidnapped Elizabeth all those years ago, but he’d become somewhat of a mentor to her in the past months, teaching her more about piracy and the brethren court, all things that she was absolutely fascinated with. 

“Do you have any clue where we are?” She asked once he’d took over again, knowing that she couldn’t recall any maps guiding them at any point in their venture. 

He shook his head, “We’re gettin’ closer,” He offered, focusing himself back on steering them to who knows where. 

Isabella decided to leave him be for some time, finding Elizabeth and sitting down next to her for a little while, the two of them chatting mindlessly, something that had gotten harder and harder the longer they had been aboard their ship, things just started to blend together, and Isabella could only hope that they were just getting closer! 

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but Will was suddenly shouting, “Barbossa! Ahead!” His declaration had caught the attention of almost everyone on the ship, including Isabella and Elizabeth. 

Isabella wasted no time in running up to Barbossa to get a better view of what Will was talking about, Elizabeth hot on her heels as a small group of Jack’s crew gathered around him. 

“Aye,” Barbossa agreed, “We’re good an lost now!” He seemed as calm as ever as he spoke, confusing the lot of them. 

“Lost?” Elizabeth demanded, furrowing her brow. 

Barbossa was quick to nod, “For certain you have to be lost to find the places that can’t be found,” He explained, much to everyone’s confusion, “Elseways, everyone would know where it was!” He seemed excited about the discovery, but Isabella felt something in the pit of her stomach drop, something was definitely wrong. 

“We’re gaining speed!” Gibbs warned just as Isabella turned her head to look out over the front of their ship, finally seeing where Barbossa was taking them. 

The water dropped off, not that far from where they were sailing, and it wasn’t going to take them long to drop off with it! 

Will seemed to notice at the same time Isabella did, shouting for the men to get to their stations, hoping to stall them from falling to their most certain death, and rousing everyone to their feet. 

Before anyone could jump into action, Barbossa was shouting louder, “Nay! Belay that order! Let her run straight and true!” He shouted, causing everyone to scramble. 

Isabella dragged Elizabeth over to the front of the ship, where most of the crew had decided to gather themselves, trying to see what they were headed towards. 

It didn’t take long for Elizabeth to spin back around to Barbossa, “You’ve doomed us all!” She cried. 

He was quick to scoff in response, “Don’t be so unkind. You may not survive to pass this way again and these be the last friendly words you hear!” He countered, still seeming much too calm to deal with the situation. 

“Tie her off!” Will cried, desperate to find someway out of their situation. 

“Hard to port!” Isabella wasted no time in trying to find something to do, she didn’t want to  _ die _ before they even had the chance to save Jack! 

She could feel their ship become more and more rocky the closer they got to the edge, and before she knew what was happening, her hands were tightly grabbing onto some nearby rope tied tight to the ship, hoping to anchor herself best she possibly could before the ship began to tip over the edge, sending them all hurtling to their doom. 

The last thing she remembered was hearing Barbossa’s barking laughter as they fell. 

The next thing she knew, Isabella was being pulled to her feet out of shallow waters. Looking up she noticed Barbossa had a strong grip on her arm, helping her to her feet and offering her his miraculously steady arm to anchor herself with. 

Looking around herself, she quickly spotted Will and Elizabeth, happy to see that the two of them were hanging onto each other, alive and well. Other familiar faces soon began to pop up as well, and not before long it looked like the entire crew was pulling themselves from the water. 

Once they had made it to the sand, Isabella trusted herself to finally let go of Barbossa’s arm, knowing that if she passed out she wouldn’t fall straight back into the water at this point. 

“This truly is a god forsaken place,” Gibbs muttered, being the first to speak through the crew’s attempts to steady themselves. 

With a quick look around the beach, Isabella was surprised to see that there was only sand surrounding them, “I don’t see Jack,” She perked up, not knowing where they were going to go from there, “I don’t see anyone!” It was a little bit of a shock, but hopefully something would work out in their favor soon, because at this point, they didn’t even have a ship! 

“He’s here,” Barbossa assured, “Davy Jones never once gave up what he took!” 

Will was quick to shake his head, “It doesn’t matter, we’re trapped out here by your doing, no different than Jack,” Isabella couldn’t help but to agree, their situation looked pretty bleak, but at least Jack wouldn’t be alone anymore. 

“Witty Jack is closer than you think,” Looking over to Tia Dalma, Isabella noticed that the woman had attracted the only sign of life that was on the beach so far, a small white crab sat in the palm of her head, soaking up all of the woman’s attention. 

Suddenly, there was a sound in the distance over some of the dunes, a low rumbling that started to get louder and louder. Her attention was swung to the source of the noise, and over the dunes, popped familiar black sails. 

Isabella bit her lip as the sails began to form into a ship, and it didn’t take long for her eyes to narrow in on the figure standing on the mast, looking proud as his ship moved underneath him, getting closer and closer to the ocean behind them. 

She could hear mumbles coming from the crew around her, but for the most part she was in shock, watching this boat get closer and closer to them, and the closer they got the more Jack became recognizable. It didn’t take long for the boat to slide down the rest of the dunes and into the water, Jack quickly sliding down a rope and marching over to where their crew stood. 

She really couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Jack looked like he didn’t age a day, and she had definitely expected much worse since he’d been in Davy Jones’ Locker for so long, but here he was, looking as cocky and proud as ever. 

The crew seemed to fall in a line as he approached, and was pulled back by Tia Dalma, falling into line between her and Barbossa. 

“It’s the Captain!” Pintel exclaimed, excitedly. 

“A sight for sore eyes, Jack!” Gibbs quickly called out, too. 

Jack’s eyes narrowed in on Gibbs, “Mr. Gibbs!” He quickly exclaimed. 

“Aye, Captain,” Gibbs answered, nodding his head eagerly. 

Something seemed slightly off about Jack to Isabella, she just didn’t know what yet, “I thought so. I expect you can account for your actions then?” He asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he spoke down to the man. 

“Sir?” Gibbs asked, his confusion coming through clearly. 

“There has been a perpetual and virulent lack of discipline aboard my vessel, why is that, sir?” He demanded, his voice taking on almost a harsher tone. 

Gibbs frowned, “You’re in Davy Jones’ Locker, Captain,” He explained. 

Jack narrowed his eyes at the man, “I know that, I know where I am, and don’t think I don’t!” He argued back. 

Before the two men could continue to go at it, Barbossa spoke up, diverting Jack’s attention, “Jack Sparrow,” He greeted. 

Isabella felt her heart start to speed up when Jack turned his attention to Barbossa, he was so close to looking at her, but his eyes remained locked on the man instead, ignoring her for the mean time, “Ah, Hector, it’s been too long, hasn’t it?” He asked, turning his nose up as he spoke. 

“Aye,” Barbossa agreed, “Isla de Muerta, you shot me, remember?” He prompted. 

Jack shook his head, immediately dismissing the man, “No I didn’t,” He decided. 

Before Isabella knew what was happening, his eyes slid right over her to address Tia Dalma instead, but she didn’t miss his hesitation before he continued to speak, he was clearly ignoring her for a reason, “Tia Dalma,” He greeted, instead, “Out and about, eh? You lend an agreeable sense of the macabre to any delirium,” He confessed, finally slipping and letting them know what was going on. 

“He thinks we’re a hallucination,” Will explained. 

“William!” Jack exclaimed, moving on just like that, “I see you’ve still got yer bonnie lass, tell me something, have you come because you need my help to rescue a certain distressing damsel? Or rather a damsel in distress? Either one,” Jack shot out. 

“No,” Will confessed. 

Jack nodded, squinting down at Elizabeth, before turning back to Will, “Then you wouldn’t be here, so you can’t be here, Q.E.D. you’re not really here!” He finished. 

Isabella didn’t like the way that Jack was acting, she knew someone had to get him to believe that they were really here, and since he passed right over her before, she might as well give it her best chance to see what he had to say to her. It was a little nerve wracking though, especially since he made it very clear he didn’t want to look at her earlier. 

After a quick breath, she took a step forward, catching Jack’s attention and this time keeping his eyes on her, “Jack,” She called, making sure he really was looking at her now as she tilted her hat back to get a better look at him. 

Immediately Jack stepped up to meet her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her a little ways away, she shot a hesitant look over her shoulder, and thankfully met Tia Dalma’s calm gaze, stopping her heart from racing as much as it could’ve in the moment. 

“Darling,” Jack began, speaking in somewhat of a hushed voice, his free hand coming up to capture her waist, “Why don’t we wait until we’re onboard this time, hmm?” He asked, looking like he was about to lean down… 

Isabella quickly brought her hands up to his chest, stopping him from whatever he was about to do, “Jack,” She repeated, causing him to widen his eyes in surprise, “This is real, we’re here,” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, he jerked backwards, completely letting go of her, just like he was shocked by what she said. Jack stared slack jawed at her for a few moments before turning on his heel and walking back towards the crew, leaving her to follow after him hesitantly, returning to her place next to Tia Dalma and Barbossa. 

“The locker, you say?” He asked to Gibbs. 

“Aye,” The older man replied. 

Isabella couldn’t help but to perk up again, realizing that whatever she said to him had to have broken him out of his stupor somehow, “We’ve come to rescue you!” She insisted. 

Jack spun on her in seconds, “Have you now?” He demanded, “But seeing as I possess a ship and you don’t, it seems as though you’re the ones in need of rescuing and I’m not sure I’m in the mood,” He practically hissed, his attention turning towards the rest of the crew as he continued to belittle them. 

Barbossa, thankfully, was quick enough to deal with Jack’s attitude at the moment, “I see my ship,” He began, pointing out towards the Pearl that had floated a good distance away from them at that point, “Right there.” 

Jack narrowed his eyes, “Can’t spot it! Must be a tiny thing behind the Pearl!” He said, a grin coming back to his face. 

Will let out a huff, “Jack, Cutler Beckett has the heart of Davy Jones, he controls the Flying Dutchman!” He explained. 

Isabella watched curiously as Jack tensed at Will’s statement, “He’s taking over the seas,” She quickly perked up, not wanting to fall short now. 

“The song has already been sung, the Brethren Court is called,” Tia Dalma spoke up. 

Jack huffed, “Leave you people alone for a minute and look at you, everything’s gone to pot!” He mumbled, still not taking their situation as seriously as everyone would like him to. 

“Aye Jack, the world needs you back something fierce,” Gibbs confessed. 

“And you need a crew,” Will continued. 

Jack still didn’t look quite convinced, “Why should I sail with any of you?” He asked, clearly looking to be convinced. 

Tia Dalma was the first to step up, “Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it, at the time,” She grinned, clearly already knowing Jack would forgive her. 

“Alright, fair enough, you’re in,” Then Jack started to go down the line, clearly belittling every member of his crew, “Don’t need you, you scare me,” He said to Ragetti, whose face dropped instantly, “Gibbs, you can come. Marty, Cotton, Cotton’s parrot. I’m a little iffy but at least I’ll have someone to talk to… Who are you?” He paused when he reached Huang and his men. 

“Tai Huang, these are my men,” He introduced. 

“Where do your allegiances lie?” Jack demanded. 

“With the highest bidder,” Huang shrugged. 

“I have a ship,” Jack looked proud at his declaration. 

Huang was quick to nod, “Then you are the highest bidder,” He offered. 

Jack spun around, facing his crew again, “Good man! Weigh anchor, all hands, prepare to make sail,” He got out, quickly falling back into the role of Captain. 

Isabella couldn’t help but watch on curiously as Jack flipped open his compass, slamming it shut almost immediately afterwards and looking up to meet Isabella’s eyes, only getting pulled away from her when Barbossa spoke up again, “Which way you going, Jack?” He asked, pulling out his charts and smiling triumphantly. 

She found herself distracted when Jack faltered at the sight of the charts, she didn’t know what was going on through his head, she doubted anyone ever did, but he still hadn’t really said anything to her or Will or Elizabeth, did he even want them coming on the ship with him? 

Jack was quick to march over to Barbossa, grabbing the charts out of his hands, and looking over them immediately, “To the Pearl!” He ordered, tucking away the charts into his jacket before Barbossa had a chance to snatch them back from him. 

Thankfully, Jack didn’t protest when Isabella made her way out to the Pearl with the rest of them, and after a long swim back to the ship, they were climbing aboard the familiar vessel. 

Even once they climbed back aboard the Pearl, Jack still didn’t bother to talk to her, he just went around shouting orders, trying to take control before Barbossa could, and even though she didn’t care for the bickering match between the two Captains, it felt at least like things were back to normal. 

Elizabeth was quick to pull Isabella to the side, noticing her somber mood, “Has Jack said anything to you?” She asked. 

Isabella shook her head, not knowing why it was hard for her to confess that to her sister, “No, not after he pulled me aside on the beach,” She confessed. 

“What did he say then?” Elizabeth pressed, saiting her own curiosity. 

She was quick to shrug, “Nothing much, he still thought he was hallucinating at that point, once he realized he wasn’t he didn’t bother saying anything else,” She muttered, her eyes darting around until she was able to spot Jack standing next to Barbossa, the two of them holding their telescopes out over the ocean surrounding them, “I don’t want to focus on him right now, we just need to get ourselves out of here, then I can worry about Jack,” Isabella said, knowing that was the most important thing to her at the moment. 

The sun was beginning to set, which wasn’t a good sign for them, Isabella knew that they couldn’t stay in the Locker for too long, if they did they would never leave, and she felt feat hit her at the thought of being forced to stay here forever, especially if Jack still wasn’t talking to her. 

Her attention was caught by Ragetti when he let out a yelp, looking over the side of the boat, “Eerie, that’s downright macabre!” He grimaced. 

Hearing this, Isabella made her way over to the other side of the ship, looking over the edge to see hundreds of dead bodies floating alongside the Pearl, looking eerily calm, just like Ragetti had shouted. 

She decided to look away from the sad sight, not wanting to know how many people Beckett was getting Jones to kill right now, it definitely didn’t sit right with her, and she didn’t care to focus on it for too long. She made herself comfortable at her familiar table with the charts again, apparently Barbossa had convinced Jack to lay them out once more so they could hope to find their way back to the land of the living. 

She didn’t know how long she sat there for before Pintel was now talking about the bodies, “There’s boats coming now!” He announced. 

Hesitantly, Isabella got to her feet, watching as even more crew members surrounded the edge of the Pearl to look at the men in small boats that were overtaking them. 

“They’re not a threat to us, am I right?” Will asked, sounding a little freaked out. 

“We are nothing but ghosts to them,” Tia Dalma replied, keeping her eyes focused on the boats. 

“It’s best we just let them be,” Barbossa said, trying to end the discussion. 

A gasp from Elizabeth cut Barbossa short though, “Isabella, it’s our father! We’ve made it back! Father, look!” At the declaration from her sister who stood a little ways away, closer to Will, Isabella looked back out over the side the Pearl, to sure enough see their father sitting in a boat floating along with the rest of the men. 

“Elizabeth, we’re not back,” Jack muttered, causing Elizabeth to shoot him a harsh glare and Isabella to jump, not knowing how he’d practically snuck up behind her while she looked out over the men. 

But Elizabeth was right, that was their father, he was floating not too far away, and she looked away from Jack to shout out to him, hoping to catch his attention, “Father!” She called, her heart racing at what this could mean.

A part of her knew that they couldn’t have made it back, that was much too easy, but it definitely was him, right? 

The man looked up at the Pearl, noticing Isabella first before his eyes slid over to find Elizabeth as well, “Isabella, Elizabeth… you’re dead?” He asked, sounding none too pleased. 

“No, we’re not!” Elizabeth called. 

Their father shook his head, “I think I am,” He confessed, a frown on his face. 

Isabella felt her jaw drop, “No, you can’t be,” She said, loud enough for him to still hear her. 

Their father started to mumble about a chest, clearly talking about Jones’ heart, except he clearly didn’t know as much about the situation as Isabella and Elizabeth did at this point. 

“Come aboard!” Isabella suddenly blurted out, not knowing what else to say to him, hoping that if he could just get close enough to them he could return with them. 

“Someone cast a line!” Elizabeth called. 

Marty passed Elizabeth a line, and she immediately threw it out over his boat, giving him room to grab onto it so he could drag himself over to the Pearl, but he didn’t make a move to do so. 

“Take the line!” Isabella called, growing a little desperate at the thought of never getting to see her father again. 

“I’m so proud of you, the both of you,” He said, still making no move to grab Elizabeth’s rope. 

Isabella felt her muscles seize up, he wasn’t going to grab it, he was going to let himself die… and she was going to have to deal with the guilt all over again, but this time it was for her own father! Maybe if she had gone back to Beckett, maybe if she hadn’t sworn off Port Royale he wouldn’t have died, he would still be alive. 

Without thinking about what she was doing, only hearing blood rush through her head, she moved to run forward, to get closer to Elizabeth, not knowing where she would go from there, but before she even had a chance to, she could hear Tia Dalma shout something, and then she was being grabbed from behind, a pair of familiar strong arms wrapping around her chest to hold her back. 

At first she let out a shriek, wanting nothing more than to get to her father, but she was quickly manhandled into an embrace. She was spun around and pulled into a warm chest, a pair of arms wrapping around her upper back as she let herself collapse into the body holding her in place. 

Her hands quickly fisted themselves in the back of the person’s jacket, pulling them to her in a tight embrace as she felt a few tears slip down her cheeks, not being able to think of anything but her father and how she would never get to see him again. 

She felt herself hesitate when a hand slipped into her hair, pushing her head further against the body she was embracing, and then she realized just how invasive she was being, deciding she didn’t want to get held by someone while she sobbed. Without wasting a second, she pulled her head up, wiping at her eyes quickly before looking up to meet Jack’s familiar dark eyes. 

Immediately her heart started to pound, they really haven’t had a chance to speak and here she was crying into his chest at the loss of her father, it really was very sudden, “Jack,” She breathed, surprised to see him standing so close to her. 

Even though she was trying to pull away from him, Jack stayed strong, instead turning his head away from her to address the crew now, “Get some shut eye, can’t escape the Locker if we’re not rested,” He ordered, and before Isabella knew what was happening, Jack was sweeping the two of them away, straight into his Cabin. 

She blinked and Jack was shutting the door behind them, wasting no time in guiding her to the small bed and letting her sit down on it. In an even stranger turn of events as she sat there trying to cope with what she just saw, Jack swiftly helped her take off her boots and jacket, doing the same to himself before he was sitting down next to her. 

“You should get some rest,” He said, urging to her lay down. 

Isabella didn’t even realize that Jack had helped her lie down, she was so out of it she really couldn’t seem to focus on any one thing that was happening at the moment. She didn’t even really comprehend that she was laying next to Jack, getting her first real chance to talk to him since finding him, but she couldn’t think about it at the moment. 

She was so caught up in her thoughts, she let out a gasp when Jack slung an arm over her, pulling her straight up against him. She was tucked neatly under his arm and she squirmed a little bit, trying to get comfortable while at the same time debating if she wanted to throw his arm off of her. After a moment, she decided to just try to settle down, not even realizing that Jack had managed to distract her from thinking about her father at the moment. 

When he noticed she wasn’t pushing him off of her, Jack pulled her closer, tucking his other arm under her head so she was laying on him now and she let out an almost inaudible groan, “What are you doing?” She demanded, unsure if she should feel aggravated at him for his antics or just let them slide by at the moment. 

Jack shifted again, his hand coming up to cup the back of her head, “Making sure this isn’t a delusion,” He mumbled in response. 

Isabella felt herself frown, happy that Jack had pushed her face practically into his neck so he couldn’t see her contemplative look. She wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but clearly while he was in the Locker he must’ve had plenty of hallucinations. Isabella felt herself relax as she put all of her brain power into figuring out what Jack could’ve meant by that… 

If he was trying to figure out if he was hallucinating or not then he must’ve had a hallucination about her, why else would her being there help him figure it out? 

“Did you-” She hesitated, pushing herself further into his neck before continuing, not wanting to see the look on his face when he answered, “Did you have hallucinations about me?” She asked, unsure if this was something Jack would talk about with her, since he very obviously held some grudge over her for telling him to go down with the Pearl.

She felt Jack tense up next to her, and she subconsciously clutched at his shirt, not wanting him to pull away from her for asking him a question. Jack didn’t answer her, instead, before she could even guess what he was up to, he was practically flipping himself over her, looming above her before he leant down, and pressed his lips against hers. 

It took Isabella a second to realize what was going on, feeling caught off guard at Jack’s unexpected kiss. It didn’t take her long to push him off of her though, shoving hard at his chest as her face began to heat up from the unexpected assault! 

“What are you doing?” She squeaked out once he was off of her, the two of them still laying next to each other but not touching. 

She could hear Jack exhale sharply before he spoke, “Making sure this is real, darling,” He muttered, sounding much more exhausted than he did before. 

She was beyond flustered at the moment, sure she’d kissed him before, but that was when she was practically sending him to the locker, this was much different, and they were in his  _ bed _ ! It was a bit too much for her, and then she realized that he’d done this to her after she watched her dead father float away from them! He was insufferable! 

There was too much going on in her head at the moment, she really was much too exhausted to be angry or upset with him at the moment, she just had to focus on the fact that they got him back, and hopefully they could get out of this alive. 

After silence had settled between the two of them, and her emotions settled down, she found herself scooting back closer to Jack, just wanted to be comforted at the moment. It didn’t take long for him to realize what she was doing and wrap his arms around her, giving her the comfort she needed. 

She didn’t know how long the two of them had laid there for, but after a while she realized she was having a hard time falling asleep, and she hoped that Jack was still awake too, “Did you figure out if it was real?” She asked, her voice coming out in a whisper, just incase he was still asleep. 

He wasn’t. 

Instead, she felt him nod against the back of her head, his breath hitting the back of her neck as he exhaled sharply, “Aye,” He agreed. 

“That’s good, I suppose,” She decided, not quite sure what else to say. 

“Aye,” Was all Jack offered in agreement. 

Isabella couldn’t help but feel bad, he was probably trying to go to sleep, and here she was keeping the both of them up. But there was just too much going on, she couldn’t even  _ think _ about falling asleep right now, her mind was racing. 

But she stayed quiet, deciding that if she couldn’t sleep she shouldn’t condemn Jack to the same fate, especially after he must’ve suffered many sleepless nights in the locker. That was the next thing she let herself focus on, what Jack must’ve gone through in the past year, she couldn’t imagine how hard it must’ve been for him, and it only made sense to her that he was having hallucinations by the time they found him. 

That’s how she finally made herself fall asleep, distracting herself from thinking about her father, but instead forcing herself to think about how Jack must’ve felt for the past year, and how if he could sleep right now, she should be able to sleep too. 

She realized in the morning she could worry herself to death, but for now she needed to rest, and finally she let herself drift off into sleep. 


	15. Chapter 15

Unsurprisingly, Isabella was one of the first people up and moving on deck that morning, it was an easy decision for her after a restless night’s sleep she had to deal with. Needless to say, as soon as the sun came up that morning, Isabella was on deck, looking for something to do to keep herself occupied. 

Once the crew started coming back to life, it was clear that the rest of them hadn’t gotten much sleep either. A lot of focus was on how they were going to get back to the land of the living, they didn’t have much time left.

After learning this, Isabella found herself sitting right by the charts, committing her entire morning to studying them until something hopefully popped out at her. 

She didn’t know how many hours had passed, but she was sure that she’d been sitting there and ignoring everyone that came her way for most of the morning, the sun was now directly above them, blazing down on them, and causing some sweat to bead at Isabella’s forehead. 

Will and Gibbs had joined her at some point, she couldn’t quite recall when, and soon enough the two men were watching as she aimlessly spun the map to reveal phrases the lot of them had seen hundreds of times by now. 

“Why is all but the rum gone?” Isabella heard Pintel groan at some point, not bothering to look over to see what he was talking about. 

Gibbs shrugged from where he sat next to her, “Rum’s gone too,” He commented. 

“If we cannot escape these doldrums by nightfall, I fear we will sail trackless seas, doomed to roam the reach between worlds forever,” Tia Dalma sighed.

“With no water, forever seems to be arriving a mite too soon,” Gibbs added. 

Isabella wanted to tell them all to shut up, they weren’t going to save themselves if they all sat around complaining! But she knew her bad attitude wasn’t something she planned on sharing with the others, at least not while she could help it. 

“Why doesn’t he do something?” Will suddenly perked up, nodding his head up at Barbossa. 

“There’s no sense to it,” Gibbs shrugged. 

“And the green flash happens at sunset, not sunrise,” Will continued, trying to figure something out. 

Isabella continued to spin the map, trying to take what the two of them were talking about into consideration, but when all she could find was familiar phrases, it was very easy to become annoyed, “Over the edge,” Gibbs read, “It’s driving me over the blooming edge… Sunrises don’t set!” He cursed. 

Thankfully, Will and Gibbs soon became bored with the maps, deciding that the map wasn’t the key to the Pearl getting out of there. 

She had a feeling she was close to figuring something out… She knew over the edge had to be a reference to the waterfall they’d unwillingly been sailed off before, but now there seemed to be no falls in sight, and they were really good and lost, there had to be another edge they were going over, she just didn’t quite know where to find it, and nothing in the map gave her any clues. 

It didn’t take long for Isabella to catch someone else’s attention. 

She wasn’t surprised to see Elizabeth come to her side shortly after she’d been left alone, her older sister taking up Gibbs’ seat to her left, “Hi,” Elizabeth softly murmured. 

Instantly, Isabella was hit with a pang of guilt, although she was trying to distract herself from thinking about her father since last night, she hadn’t even thought about how Elizabeth had been coping with it. Without putting any more thought into the maps, she straightened up to face her sister. 

“Elizabeth,” Was all Isabella was able to say before she was surging forward, maps forgotten as she wrapped her sister up in a hug, “How are you?” She breathed into Elizabeth’s shoulder. 

Elizabeth was quick to return the hug, pulling her arms tight around Isabella and letting the two of them sit there for a moment, possibly feeling just as guilty as Isabella had felt. When Elizabeth finally did pull away, Isabella could see the puffiness around her eyes, and she was sure her own looked just as bad, “I’m alright, and you?” She asked, keeping one warm hand on Isabella’s shoulder. 

Isabella nodded in response, “I’m alright, I’m distracting myself for now,” She said, halfheartedly motioning towards the maps on the table in front of them. 

Elizabeth nodded, seemingly understanding, “Right, I’m trying to do the same, but the maps make no sense to me,” She shrugged, shaking her head, “Have you been able to figure anything out?” She continued. 

Isabella wasn’t happy that the two of them were ignoring the fact they had to watch their father sail off to his death the other night, but at the same time, she would much rather think about their own safety at the moment. After tonight, the two of them would have plenty of time to mourn over their father, no matter what happened to them. 

“Not really, just browsing, hoping something will come to me… I’ve been here all day though,” She said, feeling dejected about it. 

“Right,” Elizabeth nodded, the two of them not having much to say at the moment. 

After they had sat in silence for a short while, Isabella’s attention was brought back to the map, and Elizabeth tried to watch for a while, offering suggestions about what things could mean, but none of them made sense to her, and it didn’t take long for the older sister to get up, once again leaving Isabella to her own devices, hoping some inspiration would strike from somewhere, because the sun was slowly starting to set.

“Let’s have a look at this.” 

Isabella was brought back from the maps once again, when none other than Jack decided to take a seat across from her, his boot brushing up against her own as he took his seat. 

“Have you seen them before?” Isabella asked, deciding to strike up conversation with him. 

Jack shook his head, his fingers replacing the spot hers had just occupied as he started to move the charts around, “Not in this lifetime,” He muttered, finding some of the phrases she had seen over and over again. 

“None of it makes sense, I’ve been over it a thousand times,” Isabella muttered, putting her head in her hands as she thought about their fate, hoping that Jack might be able to come up with something in their time of need. 

“Up is down,” He read, frowning, as he looked up at Isabella, “Well, that’s just maddeningly unhelpful. Why are these things never clear?” He asked, furrowing his brow at her before going back to the maps. 

She could only shrug in response, hesitating when he became silent as he pondered the charts, occasionally muttering to himself under his breath. 

The silence between the two of them felt very familiar after a while, but she’d had enough of silence to last a lifetime, “I have some ideas, maybe they’d make more sense to you?” She muttered after a while. 

Jack’s dark eyes found hers and the corners of his lips turned up in a smirk, “Better than nothing, luv,” He answered, his voice just as low as hers was. 

“Well, Barbossa steered us off the edge of a waterfall to get us back to you, so that’s what Over the Edge means, I think…” She told him, feeling like it made a lot less sense once she said it out loud. 

Jack nodded, biting at his rings as his attention went back to the charts, “No waterfalls around here,” He muttered, the silence falling between the two of them once more. 

Isabella could only watch the charts again, looking for something she hadn’t seen before, but even Jack’s nimble fingers couldn’t find anything she hadn’t already seen. She was so focused on what his hands were doing, she didn’t even notice him looking at her now, a frown on his face. 

He did catch her attention in a rather large way when he flipped the maps upside down, “Not sunset… sundown, and rise!” He suddenly cried, his eyes darting up to Isabella’s startled ones before his gaze shot to over the edge of the Pearl, looking at something in the distance. 

“Oh!” He exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running towards one side of the Pearl, shouting nonsense as he did so, “What’s that?” He called, managing to catch a good amount of the crew’s attention. 

Isabella could tell that he was muttering more nonsense as he stared over the edge of the ship at something she couldn’t quite notice at the moment, but she was curious to find out what was going on. 

“Where?” Gibbs called from where he and several others had joined Jack at the railing

“There!” Jack exclaimed, pointing out into the distance. 

Without wasting a second, she got to her feet, prepared to go over to the other side of the Pearl to see what Jack was looking at, but before she could even start towards him, Jack had let out a shout and then he was running back towards her, snagging her arm and dragging her behind him as he ran over towards the other side of the Pearl, only letting go of her when the two of them were standing at the railing. 

This time, when Jack was staring over the edge of the railing, he only stared for a second before running back to the other side of the Pearl, Isabella, and many others, choosing to follow after him as they fought to see what he was talking about. 

She tried to keep up with him, but by the time he reached the railing again, he was heading back towards the other side of the ship, another exclamation leaving his mouth as he ran. 

Now it seemed like everyone on deck was running to keep up with him, and Isabella was fighting to try and figure out what he was  _ doing _ . In all honesty, she just wanted to figure out what he could see that the rest of them couldn’t… was he hallucinating again? 

“What is it?” Elizabeth called, now having caught up to the rest of the crew in running back and forth across the deck. 

Jack didn’t bother answering though, only choosing to run once more, leaving everyone to trail after him. 

Reaching the far railing, yet again, it his Isabella like a ton of bricks. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t figured it out sooner! Jack was going to flip the boat, sending them back over the edge! And thankfully, it seemed like Barbossa was quick to catch on, too, helping Jack in his own way. 

Once the crew seemed to know what was going on, none of them seemed to waste any time trying to look out over the railing, only running from one railing to the next. 

Isabella could hear Barbossa shouting orders to the crew below, but she was too excited to actually pay attention. Jack was going to get them out of here, they were going to live, and get back home! 

She wasn’t even phased to see Pintel and Ragetti had tied themselves to the mast upside down at one point, only finding herself thrilled to see that Jack’s plan was actually working. It wasn’t long until the Pearl was tipping so far on its side, that to avoid falling off they were forced to hang onto the railing, legs dangling precariously, before they had to run to the other side. 

Isabella was thankful to be running between Jack and Gibbs, Gibbs wasn’t too helpful, but Jack once the Pearl started to really tip, she noticed Jack’s eyes dart down to her, making sure she was hanging on and even hoisting her a bit closer to the railing a few times and he always went to reach for her to make sure she was running when the Pearl started to come back to level, forcing her to keep up. 

She had just barely managed to wrap her arms tightly around the railing when the Pearl tipped a little bit too far, the far side submerging itself in the water, forcing everyone on the ship to hold on for dear life! Isabella let out a shout when her feet really came off the boat, and she kicked at the deck in a desperate attempt to keep herself stable, hoping her grip was good enough to get her out of this alive! 

It became even more terrifying when one of Sao Feng’s crew members slipped from the rail, to be saved by a net, but then horribly crushed by a loose cannon, and Isabella forced herself to look away, not wanting to think about that happening to her! 

“Oh god!” Isabella couldn’t help but groan, really hoping no one else would get hurt! 

“Now up, is down!” Jack exclaimed, just as the far side of the Pearl started to go underwater. 

She tried to pull herself up that much more, her sleeves riding up as she fought to wrap her arms further around the railing, hoping that this plan would actually work and they would all be okay. 

At the very last second, Isabella had managed to take a deep breath of air, not knowing how long they would be stuck underwater for. 

As soon as they were fully submerged, she opened her eyes, hoping to see their boat return to their own time, but all she could see was the crew hanging on for dear life, all looking around in confusion. 

She felt her chest constrict, she wasn’t used to holding her breath for this long, sure she was a decent swimmer, but she never thought she would drown, and now that seemed like an all too real possibility. 

Still nothing had happened, and tried her best to see Jack, but her vision was starting to get blurry in the water, since this was something she wasn’t really used to! She tried to reach out to him, or Gibbs, she wasn’t really sure at that point, she was just trying not to panic, but even though her blurry vision, she was able to spot the flash of green that came from above them. 

She looked down, trying to decide if the green flash was the real thing, or if it was just her imagining it moments before she couldn’t hold on any longer. 

But then the Pearl was moving, hurtling upward at an impossible speed. The force had pushed her down to the deck so she was no longer dangling, and the surprise of it all had forced Isabella to gasp, her lungs taking on an impressive amount of water before the ship had emerged, giving all of the Pearl’s crew new life. 

Isabella could barely focus on the fact that they had survived once the Pearl had broken through the surface, she was too busy trying to get all of the water out of her lungs, coughing almost violently as she tried to breath properly. 

No one really seemed to notice her predicament, everyone was focused on making sure they were all okay as well. She just flopped on her side like a fish and tried to purge her lungs of as much water as she could, spitting up an impressive amount onto the deck. 

She didn’t register Jack’s hand on her back as he helped her sit up so she could lean over and continue to cough out all the water, and thankfully it didn’t take her long to clear her lungs up so she could relish in the fact she was still living and breathing. 

“We’re back!” She couldn’t help but grin as soon as she could speak again, her eyes immediately finding Jack and before she knew what she was doing, her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. 

And then she pulled her head out of his neck and pressed a quick kiss up against his cheek, not even knowing what she was doing. 

Once her lips left his cheek, she pulled away quickly, hoping that no one else had been able to see that, but the rest of the crew seemed to be focused on their own survival at the moment. 

Jack, on the other hand, still had his one arm slung around her hips, keeping her up next to him, “I think ye could express a bit more gratitude towards the man who saved ye,” He grinned, his eyes lingering on her lips. 

Isabella swore her face lit up brighter than the flash of green they’d all just witnessed, and she was so caught off guard by Jack’s flirting that she could’ve sworn she felt more water flood into her lungs and once more she was turning away from Jack to hack up some more water, if only to make the situation that much more embarrassing for herself. 

By the time she was finally done coughing, she could hear Gibbs let out an exclamation of his own at their safety. 

“It’s the sunrise!” Elizabeth breathed. 

Isabella realized that she had somehow managed to get herself right between her sister and Jack, as a group started to form towards the center of the ship.

Suddenly, Barbossa was the first to move, pulling out a pistol and pointing it straight at Jack’s face. Without thinking, Isabella pulled out her own pistol, pointing it at Barbossa, realizing seconds afterwards that Elizabeth, Will, and Gibbs had done the same, and Jack was the last to pull his out, but instead of aiming at Barbossa like Isabella had assumed he would, he pointed his gun straight at Will, forcing Will to pull out  _ another  _ gun and point it at Jack! Isabella couldn’t believe what she was seeing when Jack pulled out his second pistol to point it at Elizabeth, and now Isabella was forced to pull out hers to point it at Jack! 

To top it all off, Barbossa decided to pull out his second pistol and pointed it straight as Isabella, getting the cold metal much too close to her face for her liking. And she thought that the two of them had been getting along! 

Once everyone seemed to be threatening someone else, Barbossa started to laugh, and Isabella did too, but she didn’t bother letting down her defenses for a second, because as soon as the laughter died down, they were all pointing their pistols at each other once again. 

“Alright then!” Barbossa finally spoke up, “The Brethren Court’s a-gathering at Shipwreck Cove. And Jack, you and I are goin’ and there’ll be no arguing that point,” He decided, practically shaking his pistol in Isabella’s face. 

Jack only shrugged, “I is arguing that point,” He decided, his guns still trained on Elizabeth and Will, “If there’s pirates a-gathering, I’m pointing my ship the other way,” Jack finished. 

Elizabeth swung her pistol away from Barbossa to now point both of hers at Jack, “The pirates are gathering to fight Beckett, and you’re a pirate,” She argued. 

Jack moved to point both his pistols at Elizabeth, and Will countered by pointing both of his at Jack, “Fight or not, you’re not running Jack,” He pressed, forcing Jack to move his pistol back to Will. 

Isabella couldn’t help but to speak up at this point, not quite believing that Jack wouldn’t at least try to fight, after all he’s been through, “If we don’t stand together, he’ll hunt us down!” She argued, hoping to be able to get through to Jack, since at this point she figured she was the only one who had a chance. 

Jack narrowed his eyes at her, and opened his mouth like he was going to answer her, but of course Barbossa had to open his mouth, “One by one, till there be none left, but you!” He added. 

Of course Jack didn’t like the sound of that coming from Barbossa, “Quite like the sound of that,” He confessed, “Captain Jack Sparrow, the last pirate,” He couldn’t help but grin. 

Barbossa was quickly getting annoyed with Jack, and he wasted no time in surging forward, and getting one of his pistols much closer to Jack’s face, and the other much closer to Isabella’s, the pistol almost brushing up against her jaw. 

She frowned, deciding to aim both of her pistols at Barbossa now, only for the man to send her a wink before he spoke up again, “Aye, and you’ll be fighting Jones alone, how does that figure into your plan?” He asked, sounding like he was winning. 

Isabella was quick to notice that Jack was now pointing both of his pistols at Barbossa as well, the smile completely wiped from his face now, “I’m still working on that. But I’ll not be going back to the locker, mate, count on that!” And with the slightest pull of his finger, Jack was pulling the trigger, still aiming straight at Barbossa’s face. 

Isabella flinched, but the blast never came, Barbossa’s face was still right where it should’ve been and Jack was staring down at his gun in confusion. 

Elizabeth quickly shot both of her, and Jack swung his arm around to point his pistol at Elizabeth, testing to see if his other pistol would word. Isabella was quick to swing her pistols at the deck, not actually wanting to shoot anyone now that the threat was out of the way, and of course, her powder was as wet as everyone else’s had been. 

“Wet powder!” Gibbs muttered. 

Thankfully, after their small argument, it didn’t take Jack and Barbossa long to come to the conclusion that they had to restock their supplies if they wanted to make it very far, “I bet the charts can help,” Isabella found herself perking up, knowing that they could help them after studying them for so long. 

Will was quick to pass the charts over to her, and she soon found herself surrounded by most of the crew as she started to shift through the maps, “There’s a freshwater spring on this island,” She explained, quickly finding what she was looking for and pointing it out to Jack and Barbossa and whoever else happened to be watching at the moment, “We can resupply there and go back to shooting each other later,” Isabella tried to joke, but knowing her audience it seemed a little too realistic for her liking. 

At some point in her little display, Jack had ended up behind her, his hands coming down on her shoulders to her surprise, as Barbossa hovered over her left side, the both of them trying to see where she was leading them. 

Once they had their heading, Isabella felt Jack squeeze her shoulders quickly before addressing Barbossa,  “You can lead the shore party, and I’ll stay with my ship,” He decided. 

Isabella quickly spun around on her perch to see Jack and Barbossa squaring off, Jack’s hand immediately finding its place back on her shoulder once she had spun around. 

“I’ll not be leaving my ship in your command,” Barbossa scowled back at Jack. 

She couldn’t help but perk up at that, an idea coming to mind. She quickly stood up before the two men could get into another argument, and placed a hand on each of their shoulders, holding them back, “How about you both go ashore and leave the ship in my command?” She offered, a small smile on her face, not even faltering when she caught the sharp look both men had sent her, “Temporarily, of course!” 

Barbossa looked back up at Jack, who was now staring down at Isabella, “Aye, sounds right to me,” Barbossa agreed, raising his chin up to challenge Jack to do the same. 

A smile split across Jack’s face as soon as Barbossa agreed, and before Isabella knew what was happening, Jack pushed her arm away from him and stepped closer to her, sliding his arm around her shoulders to pull her to him, “Couldn’t agree more,” He decided, mockingly nodding towards Barbossa. 

The older man only rolled his eyes as he walked away from the two of them, as their crew prepared to head to the island, hoping to get some fresh water and supplies sooner rather than later! 

Isabella tried to slip out from underneath Jack’s arm, but he only let his arm fall down around her until it was wrapped around her waist instead, “You know,” He began, “By taking temporary command of  _ my  _ ship, that makes you a Captain,” He decided, his eyes narrowing in on his piece of eight she wore around her neck now, his free hand coming up to play with the necklace. 

“Captain Swann... does have a good ring to it,” She decided, trying to not falter as his warm fingers brushed against her chest. 

Jack only hummed in agreement, rolling the piece over a few times. 

“You can take it back, our deal is long done,” Isabella found herself saying. 

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Jack dropped it, like he’d been in a trance, “Not yet, I wager I’ll need your trust for a bit longer, darling,” He decided, his arm loosening from around her waist as well. 

Isabella blinked a few times, not knowing how to respond to that, especially after how he’d been behaving around her, she did find it rather odd, but she chalked it up to him coming back to life, she was sure he’d be back to his usual self soon enough. 

“You’ll know where to find it when you need it,” She settled on saying, wanting to find something to do so she wouldn’t be stuck standing it Jack’s grip for much longer. 

Her saving grace came in Jack noticing Barbossa start to try and Captain the ship, and she wasted no time in pointing it out to him, causing him to grumble something under his breath as he walked away from her. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take them too long to find the island where they were able to send Jack, Barbossa, and a small group of men to get them some essentials, and unsurprisingly, without the dueling Captains on board, things seemed to be pretty well controlled on the Pearl… right up until Sao Feng’s ship snuck up on them. 

The arrival of Sao Feng and his men was such a surprise to about half of the Pearl’s crew. They were basically helpless to the take over of the ship that happened all too quickly, Sao Feng’s crew that were aboard the Pearl quickly overthrowing the small number of Jack’s crew that hadn’t gone to shore, and soon enough the Pearl was being boarded, the ship swarming with Sao Feng’s men. There was a lot of cheering and jeering from Sao Feng’s crew as Jack’s was roughly manhandled into submission. 

Isabella was surprised to see that Elizabeth had been grabbed and dragged forward into the center of the ship, and it wasn’t long before she was also being grabbed, her wrists tightly shackled together as she was forced into a line next to her sister. 

It didn’t take too much time after that for Jack and Barbossa to return to the ship, capturing everyone’s attention once more. 

Barbossa wasted no time in marching his way over to Sao Feng, so he was almost standing in front of Isabella, making sure he was getting himself right up in the man’s face, “Sao Feng, you showing up here, it’s truly a remarkable coincidence,” He scowled. 

Isabella immediately spotted Jack hovering out of sight behind Barbossa, poorly attempting to avoid Sao Feng’s wrath, but the man wasn’t so easily fooled. 

“Jack Sparrow,” Sao Feng greeted, forcing Jack to pop out from behind Barbossa, “You paid me great insult once.” 

Jack was quick to shrug, “That doesn’t sound like me,” He countered. 

Faster than anyone expected, Sao Feng’s hand shot out and delivered a swift punch to Jack’s nose, causing some of the crew to let out taunting cries as Jack recovered, cracking his nose back in place. 

“Let’s call it even then,” He remarked, straightening himself up in the process. 

“Release her!” Will suddenly demanded, making himself known as he pushed through Sao Feng’s crew to address the man himself, “She’s not part of the bargain.” 

Isabella frowned at Will, not at all enjoying the fact that she had no clue what was going on, and especially because he hadn’t asked for her to be released yet either, “What bargain?” She demanded, not being able to stop herself. 

Sao Feng seemed to comply for the moment though, “You heard Captain Turner, release her!” He called out, his crew immediately listening as Elizabeth marched over towards Will. 

“Captain Turner?” Jack asked, wrinkling his nose in disdain as he glared at Will. 

“Aye! He’s led a mutiny against us,” Gibbs filled Jack in. 

“I need the Pearl to free my father, it’s the only reason I came on this voyage,” Will confessed with no hesitation. 

Isabella was thankful to see Elizabeth was also not in on this, “Why didn’t you tell me this was part of your plan?” She demanded. 

Will didn’t seem to be too interested in talking to her at the moment, “It was my burden to bear,” He confessed, and Isabella couldn’t help but scowl at his selfishness. 

Isabella found herself close to saying something to Will, but before she even knew what she would say, Jack was speaking up, pointing an accusatory finger at Will, “He needs the Pearl,” He began slowly, “Captain Turner needs the Pearl!” He almost laughed, sauntering closer towards Elizabeth and Will, “And you felt guilty,” He continued towards Elizabeth before spinning back around to face Barbossa, “And you and your Brethren Court!” 

Jack took a moment, and so did everyone else, trying to figure out where he was going with this, before he spread his arms out wide, “Did no one come to save me just because they missed me?” He asked, his eyes darting towards Isabella’s, almost like he was expecting her to say something. 

Next to her, she could hear Gibbs let out a breath of air, and she nearly scoffed, especially when some members of the crew actually validated Jack’s claim! 

“I’m going to stand over by them!” Jack decided, shooting Isabella a quick grin, as if he was mocking her, moving to stand next to Marty, Pintel, Ragetti, and Cotton. 

Before he could get too far, Sao Feng surged forward, grabbing onto Jack’s collar to stop him in his place, “I’m sorry Jack, but there is an old friend who wants to see you first,” He informed. 

Isabella had to strain herself to hear the quiet conversation between the two men, “I’m not sure I can survive any more visits from old friends,” He whispered back. 

Sao Feng changed his grip on Jack’s collar, pulling him forward to the edge of the Pearl so the two of them were staring over the edge of the Pearl, “Here’s your chance to find out,” Sao Feng informed Jack. 

Isabella couldn’t help but peak her head out from behind Gibbs to try and see what they were looking at, and once she did, she felt her stomach drop. 

In the distance was the blinding white sails of the Navy ship, and she had a bad feeling who the old friend Sao Feng was talking about had to be… she could only hope that she wouldn’t have to come face to face with him. 

Luck wasn’t on her side that day though. It didn’t take long for Sao Feng to spin around, still making sure Jack was in tow before facing Isabella, his dark eyes narrowing in on her, “Your old friend, he was also kind enough to allow you to invite a guest along with you,” He continued, motioning for his crew to release Isabella from her shackles. 

Her eyes widened at the realization that she was going to have to come face to face with Beckett again, after successfully avoiding him for the past year and a half! 

Silence seemed to fall amongst the members of the Pearl as they all seemed to realize what was going on, and Isabella found herself at a loss for words as she was pulled to the edge of the Pearl and forced into a longboat, Jack being pulled along after her. 

Once they were all in the boat, she wasn’t sure what Jack was doing next to her, if he was trying to comfort her or not, but she couldn’t focus well enough, her head swimming with thoughts of what seeing Beckett again would mean for her… It couldn’t be anything good, especially if she was being brought onboard with Jack of all people! 

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t even notice her and Jack being ushered up the Navy ship and let into Beckett’s office until they were being pushed through the doors. 

Jack stumbled through first, closely followed by Isabella who froze at the sight of Beckett. He wasn’t facing them as they entered, but when he finally did turn to face her, he looked no different than he had more than a year ago. 

“Curious,” He began without greeting, “Your friends appear to be quite desperate, Jack, perhaps they no longer believe that a gathering of squabbling pirates is enough to take down the Flying Dutchman,” Beckett began. 

Jack snuck a quick glance down at Isabella, bringing a finger up over his lips to silence her before he began to inspect the office behind Beckett’s back as he continued to speak. 

It wasn’t until Beckett finally spun around to face Jack that Isabella really felt herself tense up, the man still not looking at her, instead choosing to berate Jack for searching through his things. 

“It’s not here, Jack,” He sighed, almost like he was disappointed. 

Jack spun around, swiftly closing the drawer he’s just been shuffling through, “What?” He demanded, “What’s not?” 

Isabella decided it would be best for her to stay quiet in her place by the doors, not wanting to get involved in their conversation, she would do all that she could to keep herself out of Beckett’s gaze for as long as possible, even if she knew it was very unlikely he would ignore her for long. 

“The heart of Davy Jones,” He continued, “It’s safely aboard the Dutchman, and so unavailable for use as leverage to satisfy your debt to the good Captain.” 

“By my reckoning, that account has been settled,” Jack countered, crossing further into Beckett’s office, still messing around with several trinkets as he walked. 

“By your death? And yet, here you are,” Beckett sighed. 

Jack shrugged, “Close your eyes and pretend it’s all a bad dream, that’s how I get by,” He grinned, shooting Isabella a quick wink before turning around to mirror a painting of Beckett. 

Isabella felt her heart stop, Jack’s quick wink at her had inadvertently caused Beckett to look over at her, and judging by the small smirk working at the corners of his mouth, he had something else up his sleeve. 

“And what if Davy Jones were to learn of your survival?” He demanded, suddenly turning his attention towards Isabella, as if just realizing she was there, “Come, join us,” He demanded, waving her over with a hand. 

In no position to refuse, Isabella rolled back her shoulders and marched herself closer to where Jack and Beckett were standing, watching as Beckett picked up two small glasses of liquor, passing one over to Jack as soon as she reached them. 

“Perhaps you would consider an alternative arrangement?” He continued, holding out the small glass towards Jack, “One that requires nothing from you but information… oh, and one small soul instead of one hundred,” He finished, slyly, looking down at Isabella out of the corner of his eye as he said so. 

Her breath hitched in her throat, that was Beckett’s plan, to use her as a bargaining tool? She felt the blood rise to her face as soon as she realized what was going on, immediately feeling humiliated by the prospect of being traded between two men, it was completely degrading! Of course she knew there was nothing she could, Beckett would be able to keep her here with ease if he wanted to, he was just trying to get information from Jack, and why not make her life hell while he was at it!

“Information regarding the Brethren Court, no doubt?” He clarified, accepting the glass from Beckett’s hand, “In exchange for fair compensation, square my debt with Jones, guarantee my freedom?” He asked, taking back the liquor with ease in between sentences. 

“Of course, it’s just good business,” Beckett agreed, pouring some more of the liquor for the both of them. 

“I fail to see how bartering lives is good business,” She perked up, fighting her nerves at the expenses of her own freedom, since who knew what Jack had up his sleeve. 

Beckett looked down at her, turning to face her finally as he spoke, “A life for a life, seems fair to me,” He confessed, raising a brow as he spoke. 

“It would seem fair to you, mate,” Jack agreed, pouring himself more of the drink behind Beckett's back, “Anyhow, were I in a divulgatory mood, then what and  _ whom _ might I divulge?” He pried, acting very uninterested in the whole bargain, and dragging Beckett's attention away from Isabella again. 

“Everything,” Beckett pressed, finally sounding like he was something other than bored, “Where are they meeting? Who are the pirate lords? What is the purpose of the nine pieces of eight?” He demanded, “As for  _ whom _ ,” Beckett continued, pulling away from Jack to turn his attention towards Isabella, “I think I've made that clear enough.” 

She frowned up at Beckett, not liking how he was addressing her in the slightest, and if she was going to be stuck with him after Jack was done giving him information, she might as well stand up to him now, “I’m not a bargaining chip that’s to be used in the affairs of men,” She was quick to spit out at him, stepping up so they were nearly toe to toe. 

Beckett almost looked surprised at her, but if he was he quickly masked it with the same neutral expression he’d worn the entire time the two of them had been on board, “You made yourself a bargaining chip as soon as you left Port Royale,” He calmly answered, raising an eyebrow as if to say it was her turn. 

“And my bargain ended also when Jack died, seems like we squared everything up,” She decided, clasping her hands together, “Besides, I wouldn't think the great Cutler Beckett would fancy marrying a pirate, seems all very out of character,” She continued, hoping he'd see some reason in her argument. 

“Ah, but that's where you're wrong, if you held up your end of the bargain I would be held in an even higher regard. Bringing the governor's daughter back from her streak of piracy, if I can do that what else could I do? It's all very simple, really,” He explained, much to Isabella's shock. 

Before she could come up with another clever quip, Jack was there, hovering over her shoulder to continue his own conversation with Beckett, swiftly moving her out of the way, “Perhaps we could work out another agreement, I’m sure there’s plenty of my men who I’d be willing to trade to you… ” He trailed off after successfully managing to get Isabella away from Beckett. 

“Who, pray tell?” Beckett asked, playing along as if he was amused by the situation. 

Jack had managed to somehow snag a fan from somewhere in Beckett’s quarters, opening it as he started to fan himself, “You can keep Barbossa, the belligerent homunculus and his friend with the wooden eye both, and  _ Turner _ ,” Jack bargained, “Especially Turner… The rest go with me aboard the Pearl and I will lead you to Shipwreck Cove, where I will hand you the pirates, and you will  _ not _ hand me to Jones. Bloody fair deal, don’t you think?” He shrugged, continuing to fan himself. 

Now that she wasn't the main bargaining chip, she was able to realize the deal that these two men were actually striking, and she couldn't believe Jack was going through with it! They had just brought him back from the dead and he was going to condemn every last person who helped bring him back? She was snapped out of her thoughts when Beckett brought up her name again. 

“And what becomes of Miss Swann?” He asked, cocking a brow up at Jack. 

Isabella watched as Jack stiffened slightly, “We've already determined she's off the table,” He enforced, his voice dropping slightly as he lent further into Beckett. 

Beckett’s eyes darted over towards Isabella before he marched around Jack, who was still standing stiffly at Beckett’s desk, “Jack,” Beckett began, marching over towards the corner of his cabin, “I’ve just remembered I’ve got this wonderful compass, which points to whatever I want,” He said, pulling out Jack’s compass from his dresser, “So for what do I need you?” He countered, forcing Jack to raise the stakes. 

Isabella had never been so thankful Jack was quick on his feet, “It points to what you want most, and that’s not the Brethren Court, is it?” He asked, not hesitating in his question. 

“Then what is it?” Beckett countered. 

Jack shrugged, “Me… dead,” He answered, a frown coming to his face at the realization. 

Beckett had somewhat of a snarl on his face as he tossed the compass over to Jack, “Damn,” He cursed, catching the fan that Jack had sent his way with ease as he began to fan himself now, “Although, if I kill you, then I can use the compass to find… Shipwreck Cove, was it?” He asked, cocking his pistol and pointing it at Jack as he started to walk towards him, “Cut out the middle man as it were.” 

Jack didn’t seem to be too phased though, and Isabella decided that for now it would be best if she just stayed quiet and let him do all the talking, “With me dead… well you’ll still want her,” He muttered, gesturing towards Isabella with a flick of his thumb, “But nonetheless- you’d arrive at Shipwreck Cove, and find its stronghold nigh impregnable, able to withstand blockade for years, and then you’d be wishing oh if only there were someone I had not killed inside to assure that the pirates then come outside…” He continued to bargain, not faltering under the pistol still pointed at his head. 

“And you can accomplish all this, can you?” Beckett asked, sounding skeptical. 

Jack grinned, spreading his arms out as he backed away from Beckett, “You may kill me, but you may never insult me. Who am I?” He asked, a grin on his face again. 

Beckett shook his head, faltering for the first time since her and Jack had come aboard. 

“I’m Captain Jack Sparrow,” Jack managed to get out, sounding offended. 

Beckett looked taken aback, and even after spending so much time with Jack, Isabella found herself a little bit confused at how Jack had managed to swiftly turn the tables on Beckett during such a short amount of time. 

He looked like he was about to respond, but he had little time to, because before any of them could get a word out, the navy ship had been hit by what sounded like a cannon, the three of them all fighting to stay on their feet, and Beckett falling to the floor from the unexpected crash. 

Jack and Isabella had managed to stay on their feet though, and Isabella watched as Jack reached out to shake Beckett’s hand, leaving him with only a quick “Done,” Before grabbing her by the shoulders and pushing her out of the cabin in front of him, neither of them sparing Beckett a fleeting glance as they ran. 

“You are unbelievable!” She huffed, angrily. 

Jack had pushed them right up to the doors of the cabin, only pulling her backwards when the two guards that had initially led them down here, noticed them trying to leave. Jack somehow managed to swiftly pull the doors back and smack both the unassuming men in the face with the doors, sending both of them to the ground. 

“Aye, it's all part of my charm. No time to waste!” He grinned, grabbing onto her hand as he began to drag her out of the room and over the guard’s bodies, the sound of cannons going off much too close behind them. 

“No,” She countered, still quick to follow after him, wanting nothing more than to get away from Beckett, “Trading the lives of your crew, your  _ friends  _ just to save yourself!” She argued, wondering how Jack seemed to remember the twists and turn to get them out of Beckett's cabins. 

“You heard me earlier, luv, not one person I bartered away ventured to the land of the dead because they missed me,” He shot right back. 

“What about Pintel and Ragetti!” She quickly argued. 

“They don't count,” Came his quick reply, “Sides, you never told me why you came along on the journey, maybe I should've added you to the list,” He very obviously joked.

Jack had then pulled her up to the main deck, sauntering almost casually out into the open air, miraculously managing to avoid all of the cannons aimed their way, “You are insane!” Isabella managed to breath out, her heart threatening to beat straight out of her chest as the two of them narrowly avoided another cannon attack. 

He grinned as he led her up the stairs, “Forget a lot about a person when they’re dead,” He continued, pulling her to the side of the slip as he picked up a rope, tying it to the end of a cannon that he chose to aim down the stairs of the Navy ship, “Now, you’re going to need to hold on tight, Captain’s orders” He instructed, pulling on the other end of the rope to make sure it was secure. 

With one hand, Jack was tightly clutching onto his rope, with the other, he was getting ready to fire a cannon, so Isabella quickly chose to heed his order, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing herself maybe a little too close against him, not knowing what he was planning at the moment. 

Jack shifted around so his arm holding the rope was halfway around her, helping to make her feel secure just as Beckett reached the top of the stairs, finally catching up to the two of them. 

“You’re mad!” He called out, catching both of their attention. 

Isabella couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Jack when she saw the man appear, but she was happy to note that he at least looked a little disheveled, and she couldn’t help but to throw a quip at him, pushing back her anger towards Jack for the moment, happy to get the last word, “ _ He’s _ Captain Jack Sparrow, and thank goodness for that because if he wasn’t this probably would never work!” She couldn’t help but grin, nearly laughing when Beckett’s jaw dropped. 

Jack gave a shrug of his own towards Beckett, “What she said,” He decided, finally setting off the cannon. 

It happened so quickly, Isabella started screaming before she realized it. The cannon flew backwards and the two of them were quickly catapulted into the air, hurled towards the Pearl through the air. She had somehow managed to hang onto his neck and bury her face into his shoulder, not wanting to know how close to death the two of them were getting, and she was very thankful for that because she was sure if she let go, she would’ve fallen straight into the ocean. 

Somehow, Jack had managed to safely land the two of them onto the statues at the back of the ship, his back colliding roughly with one of them as she flew into him, still screaming even as they landed. He let out a huff of air, managing to recover quickly enough to help Isabella straighten herself out just as the crew realized that they didn’t get tossed into the ocean. 

“And that was without even a single drop of rum!” He cried, triumphantly. 

Isabella’s face was pressed up against his chest when he started speaking, her breaths were coming out in heavy pants, and even though she knew they were safe now, she really didn’t want to let go of him. 

It didn’t take Jack long to pull her off of him, pulling her away by combing his fingers through her hair at first, “Let go darling, we’ve got a traitor to deal with,” He hummed in her ear, finally managing to pull her away from him. 

He helped her sit down at the edge of the ledge, hopping down first before practically lifting her down, which she really needed at the moment… 

She lent up against the back of the ship, where Jack had just helped her down, and watched as he marched over towards Will, Pintel and Ragetti grabbing onto Will’s shoulders to hold him in place, “Send this pestilent, traitorous, cowhearted, yeasty codpiece to the brig,” Jack sneered, the two men listening to his order immediately. 

Isabella watched, not quite knowing what to do, as Will was dragged below. On the one hand, she was very shocked by what Will did, she never expected him to betray them like that, so it made sense Jack was throwing him in the brig, but on the other hand, it was Will! She really didn’t know what their plan was now, but now that Beckett was on their tail, she knew they had to get moving soon, and try again to get supplies. 

With a groan, she straightened up, pulling herself away from the wall, and wanting to find some sort of maps, to hopefully help them find some freshwater before they all could collapse from dehydration. 

“Ye alright?” 

Isabella looked up to see Barbossa standing there, eyebrow cocked as he looked down at her, waiting for her to answer him. 

She nodded, “I survived,” she offered almost weakly. 

Barbossa was quick to clasp a heavy hand on her shoulder, offering her some support as she eased herself off the wall, “Would ye like a hand?” He  prodded, holding out his arm for her. 

She gratefully accepted his arm, looping her own through his, hoping he would lead her below so she could find somewhere to go on her own. 

When he suddenly tensed up, looking up at something over her head and a scowl came to his face, Isabella went to turn to see what he was looking at, but before she had to chance to, she was being pulled backwards, out of Barbossa’s grip and into a familiar pair of arms. 

“Am I interrupting?” She wasn't surprised to hear Jack behind her, his chest rumbling against her back. When she looked up she noticed his attention was fully on Barbossa as well, scowling in turn at the man. 

Before Barbossa could speak up, she decided to, “Actually yes, you are,” She bit back, hoping he'd give up there because she was not really in the mood to talk to him. 

Jack didn't seem to care though, “Bugger,” He muttered, sounding almost sincere, “I'm disinclined to inform you that the conversation’s over, Captain's orders,” He decided, and Isabella was positive he was grinning. 

She really didn't fancy being held captive by him at the moment, so she tried to push him off of her, but Jack only moved one of his arms so it was wrapped around her chest, his hand playing with a strand of her hair. 

“I didn't make any such order,” Barbossa was quick to cut in. 

Jack nodded, “Course not, Captain did!” He responded, childishly. 

Isabella tried to push him off of her, but it wasn't as easy as she hoped it would be, “Well, I would actually love to continue my conversation, if you wouldn't-” 

Before she could continue her sentence, Jack released the stand of her hair to bring his hand up to her mouth, digging his fingers into her cheeks so she was forced to pop her mouth open in an “o” shape. 

“Jack!” She tried to argue, but her shout came out as a jumbled mess. 

He laughed, and across from her Barbossa was almost cracking a smile, too, making her that much angrier. 

“What was that, dearie?” He mocked, squeezing her face in his grip. 

Barbossa raised a hand, and she was sure that he was going to come to her rescue, “It looks like the two of you need to figure some things out, I best be leaving ye to it,” He excused himself, sending a wink towards Isabella before striding away from the couple.

Isabella tried to argue with Jack again, but he still wasn't letting her talk like a normal person, “Care to repeat that for me?” He teased. 

She really didn't care to repeat herself, so instead, she aimed an elbow straight into his gut, causing him to let out an exhale of breath and finally tease her mouth so she could berate him properly, “Care to tell me what this is about?” She hissed. 

Jack quickly recovered from her assault, but still didn't release her, “I just came back from the dead, dearest, got used to things going my way down there, need to make sure my crew knows how I'll be running things around here,” He breathed, his head coming down so he could speak in her ear. 

“And how does stopping me from talking to Barbossa have anything to do with that?” She demanded. 

“Everything!” He exclaimed, “Hector’s setting an example, a poor one at that, when there's work to be done on the Pearl, they shan't waste time trying to vie for the affections of a pretty lady,” Jack swiftly answered, his hand now playing with the necklace she wore. 

Immediately her face lit up bright red, was Jack  _ actually _ flirting with her? No, of course not, he was probably just trying to gauge how angry with him she was, and she wasn't going to let him get away with it, “Well Barbossa is gone, and as far as I can tell, you're the only one talking to a pretty woman right now,” She answered. 

Finally, Jack's arms released her, but not for long, and soon as she spun around to look at him, he'd started to push her backwards, until her back was up against the railing, “The Captain doesn't have to listen to orders, if I fancy talking to a pretty woman I'll do as I please,” He shrugged, making sure he was right up in Isabella's face as he spoke, his lips getting dangerously close to hers.

Her stomach lurched, but she'd been in enough encounters with Jack similar to this one at this point that she didn't think it was from nerves… “I suppose so,” She muttered, her previous gusto disappearing, “Or, perhaps you should go make sure none of your crew is occupying their time talking to Elizabeth, since you sound very serious about the subject,” She shot back. 

Jack didn't seem too phased by the mention of her sister, choosing instead to run his fingers along her jaw, getting closer to her still, “William is in the brig at the moment, he won't be holding up any of my time,” He answered, practically waving that thought away.

Isabella couldn't get over it so easily though, something was bothering her, it wasn't that Will was in the brig, he'd lied to all of them, he could use some time in the brig… But Elizabeth had nothing to say about that, which was odd. 

It was odd that Elizabeth hadn't greeted her as soon as her and Jack had safely made it back aboard the Pearl.

The minute Isabella realized something must have happened to Elizabeth was the moment that Jack has decided to try and close the last little amount of space between the two of them. 

He craned his neck down to get a better angle and tilted her head up, wasting no time in pressing his lips down on hers in a kiss. 

Isabella had been so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice what Jack was doing until it was too late. Her hands had been resting on his chest, and before she could push him away to demand to find out what happened to Elizabeth, Jack was biting down on her lower lip, causing her to gasp at the unexpected contact.

The next thing she knew, his tongue was in her mouth, pressing up against her own. 

He tasted like rum and cinnamon, a very surprising discovery for Isabella. 

Finally coming to her senses, she pushed him away, trying to ignore how he tried to bend down and continue.

Her mind was on overdrive, but she couldn't think about Jack at the moment, she needed to ask about her sister. 

“Elizabeth,” She managed to get out, not quite trusting herself to say anything beyond that at the moment.

Jack brushed her hair away from her face, “I didn't think you would be so adamant about making sure none of my men are with your sister, but now is not the time, luv,” He answered, bending down to kiss her again. 

Isabella slapped him away this time, having enough sense now, “No, where is she?” She demanded, finally tearing her eyes away from Jack to look around the Pearl. 

Jack was so caught off guard by this change in events that she'd been able to slip under his arm, quickly making her way out from behind the mast Jack had hid them behind and slipping down to the lower deck, wanting to get some answers. 

“Mr. Gibbs,” She called, quickly spotting the older man and running over to him, “Have you seen Elizabeth?” She demanded, hoping he'd be able to give her an answer. 

He seemed caught off guard by her question, and she knew instantly that Jack had caught up to her when Gibbs had turned his attention away from her to look at his Captain while he spoke, “Miss Elizabeth bargained herself off to Sao Feng, to right Mr. Turner's mutiny, got Sao Feng to leave us the Pearl,” He quickly explained. 

Jack laid his hand down on Isabella's shoulder before she could speak, capturing her attention once more, “A great cause, we'll have to thank her next time she comes aboard,” He said, moving to end the conversation with Gibbs. 

“Why didn't you try to stop her?” Isabella demanded, pushing Jack's hand off of her. 

Gibbs looked caught off guard by the question, “Mr. Turner tried to stop her, but she was dead set on going,” He confessed. 

“Where is Sao Feng headed?” She continued, hoping to get more answers. 

Jack interjected before Gibbs could, “He'll be arriving at Shipwreck Cove in no time,” He told her. 

Gibbs chose then to slip away from the pair, leaving Isabella to have to turn to Jack for answers, “The very place you don't want to go?” She continued, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Jack wasted no time in using his grip on her shoulder to steer her straight towards his cabin, “I think the we need to have a little conversation, with none of my crew listening in, hmm?” He said, his words coming out hushed as he whispered in her ear. 

She didn't hesitate to let Jack pull her aside, finally feeling like she would have a proper chance to confront him about his deal. 

“How are you going to explain your newfound desire to go to Shipwreck Cove?” She pressed as soon as he'd shut the door behind him. 

Jack quickly whirled around to face her, his hands coming up to guide her backwards until she was sitting on his bed, “Let me worry about the details, all that matters is that Beckett won't hand me back over to Jonsie,” He said with a shrug as he sat down next to her. 

She immediately scooted away from him, not wanting to give him any sort of idea that she might not be so upset with him, “I don’t get why I’m surprised,” She shot back, rolling her eyes. 

Jack shot her a sly smile, once again closing the gap between them, “Because I’m a pirate?” he asked, “Speaking of, I’m happy to hear you’re finally living up to the title,” He claimed, throwing his arm around her to pull her back to his side. 

“What are you talking about?” She groaned. 

“Our little chat with The Lord Beckett, you said he wouldn’t want to marry a pirate,” he breathed straight into her face, making her cringe, “While it might not be ideal for your so-called fiancee, I think I wouldn’t mind meself a pirate bride,” He grinned, squeezing her closer to his side. 

Isabella’s jaw immediately dropped, she had no clue what he was talking about, but she knew he couldn't’ be going anywhere good with this, “Fine, if you don’t want to have a serious conversation, I’ll just go share to the crew what went on with Beckett, I’m sure everyone will be thrilled to know,” She threatened. 

Before she could even stand back up to make her escape, Jack was pulling her back down, this time straight onto his lap, pinning her down with his arms, “Not so fast, luv, we’ve still got more to discuss,” He said, quickly restraining her. 

“Whatever you have to say to me can be said without you holding me down!” She argued, squirming around as she did so. 

“Happy you agree, luv,” He said, letting her go long enough for her to cross his cabin so she was standing safely by the doors. 

“What else have you got to say to me?” She asked, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. 

Jack remained seated as he spoke, much to Isabella’s delight, “I need you to promise me you won’t let slip our little secret,” He bargained. 

She frowned at him, “And why would I do that?” She asked. 

“You said you trust me,” Jack claimed, almost sounding offended. 

Isabella was quick to scoff, “That was a long time ago, we’ll need to renegotiate the terms… why should I trust you now?” She demanded. 

Jack had an easy answer up his sleeve, “I’ll do all I can to get your dearest sister back onboard with us, seems like a fair bargain,” He shrugged, finally getting back to his feet, “Do we have a deal?” 

She held up her hand, stopping him in place, “I’m going to need more, Jack,” She frowned, of course wanting her sister back, but knowing it wouldn’t be enough for her to keep such a big secret from the people she’d grown rather closer to in the past year. 

“I’m all ears, darling,” He answered, holding his hands out. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take her long to come up with something that she thought would buy her silence for the meantime, “If I’m going to stay quiet about all of this, you’re going to have to tell me everything you’re planning as soon as you plan it, and if I see you do anything I don’t know about, then our deal is off,” She decided, crossing her arms over her chest. 

Jack didn't even seem to need to mull it over, "Agreed," He decided, holding his hand out for her to shake in agreement. 

Hesitantly, Isabella accepted his hand, giving it a firm shake, "Let's get started then," She demanded, wanting to know what he was planning immediately. 

Holding up a finger to her, Isabella was sure that Jack was about to disagree with her, "We need to have a word with William first," He explained to her, taking a step closer to her. 

Isabella couldn't help but frown, "But you just sent him to the brig," She argued, not understanding where Jack was going with this. 

"Aye, and we'll just have to wait for him to escape, won't we?" He asked, a smug grin on his face. 

She couldn't help but to shake her head, "You are unbelievable," She muttered. 

"That's why you stick around, luv," Jack grinned, slinging his arm around her shoulder, "Now, let's go wait around for the boy and I'll make good on our deal," And with that, he was pulling her out of his cabin, and hopefully was going to stick true to his word, if he didn't, it wouldn't end well for either of them. 


	16. Chapter 16

Jack had dragged her to the front of the ship, and before she knew what was going on, he’d taken it upon himself to hoist her up so she was standing on the bow of the ship, urging her forward until the two of them were sitting over the edge of the Pearl, somehow managing to balance using the ship and some ropes that surrounded them. 

“Do you come here a lot?” She asked, once they were settled and waiting for Will to escape now that the sun was going down. 

Jack shrugged in response, “Not as much as I should,” He confessed. 

“And you think Will is going to show up tonight?” She asked, looking out over the water. 

It was hard to ignore Jack sitting right behind her though, his thigh resting up against the small of her back, “Course he is,” He decided, “I’m surprised he hasn’t broken out yet,” Jack confessed with a shrug. 

Isabella had to agree, it was surprising that Will hadn’t found a way out of his cell yet, or maybe he had, and he was just mulling around down below, but hopefully Jack was right and Will would make himself known soon, so she could finally get some rest for the night. 

“While we’re just sitting here, what are you planning on doing once we get to Shipwreck cove?” She asked, not being able to resist at the moment. 

Jack wrinkled her nose up at her question, clearly not wanting to talk about it, “I was planning on getting myself a drink as soon as we reach shore,” He decided on, his hand coming up to rub circles into Isabella’s back. 

She wanted to shove him away, but stopped herself, fearing she’d accidentally push herself off the edge of the Pearl if she tried to do that, and instead decided to speak, but before she could get any words out, Jack’s hand found its way over her mouth, and she was being shushed by the man next to her. 

Isabella slapped at his hand, and he moved to let her go, but not before directing her attention to Will, who had just joined the two of them at the front of the Pearl. Jack made them watch Will tie up a body to a barrel and toss him overboard before making the two of them known, “Bravo,” Jack applauded, “You escaped the brig even quicker than I expected,” He said, catching Will’s attention. 

Jack was quick to slide back down to the deck, turning around to help Isabella down off the edge of the Pearl while Will stared at the two of them with a look of confusion on his face, most likely from seeing Isabella with Jack so late at night. 

“William,” Jack was quick to continue, “Do you notice something? Or rather, do you notice something that is not there to be noticed?” He asked, swiftly. 

Will raised a brow, “You haven’t raised an alarm,” He answered calmly, his eyes still darting back and forth between Jack and Isabella. 

Isabella forgot to keep her eye on Jack for a second too long, because when he was talking again, he chose to sling an arm over her shoulder to drag her closer to him, making the scene seem even stranger to Will, “Odd isn’t it?” He asked, sauntering closer to Will while keeping Isabella in tow, “But not as odd as this, come up with this all on your lonesome?” Jack asked, gesturing towards Will’s experiment with the bodies and barrels. 

Will shrugged, “I said to myself, think like Jack,” He confessed. 

Jack’s fingers were digging into Isabella’s shoulder, but she was too busy trying to figure out what Will was planning to care at the moment, and thankfully, Jack was quick to fill her in, in his own way, “And this is what you’ve arrived at? Lead Beckett to Shipwreck Cove so as to gain his trust, accomplish your own ends?” He scoffed, “It’s like you don’t know me at all, mate,” Jack finished, looking to Isabella for confirmation. 

Isabella couldn’t help herself, rolling her eyes at him as she finally tried to brush his arm off of her, “And does Elizabeth know anything about this?” She demanded, huffing when Jack refused to let go of her. 

Will immediately looked ashamed, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why, “You’ve not seen to trust her with it,” Jack spoke up, getting himself back in control of the conversation. 

He shook his head in response, “I’m losing her,” He confessed, “Every step I take for my father is a step further from Elizabeth.” 

Isabella honestly felt bad for him, it couldn’t be easy, but at the same time, she was sure that if Will had just confided in Elizabeth, her older sister would at least be understanding, but of course Will didn’t think like that. 

“Mate, if you choose to lock your heart away, you’ll lose her for certain,” Jack began, sounding a bit too serious compared to what Isabella was used to, “If I may lend a machete to your intellectual thicket-” He paused, finally releasing Isabella to step forward towards Will, “-Avoid the choice altogether. Change the facts. Let someone else dispatch Jones,” He bargained. 

While Isabella did appreciate getting to learn a little bit more about what Jack was planning, she was still surprised to hear it from him, and she couldn’t stop herself from jutting in again, “Who, you?” She demanded, surprised that he’d want to take over Jones’ role. 

Jack turned back to face her as he spoke this time, sending her a wink she almost missed, “Death has a curious way of reshuffling one’s priorities,” He confessed, and Isabella couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for that, “I’ll slip aboard the Dutchman, find the heart, stab the beating thing. Your father goes free, and you’re free to be with your charming lass,” He grinned, turning back to Will to express his entire plan to the two of them. 

“And you’re willing to carve out your heart and bind yourself to the Dutchman, forever?” Will asked, sounding skeptical. 

Jack shook his head, “No mate, I’m free forever. Free to sail the seas beyond the edges of the map, free from death itself,” He grinned, clearly enraptured by the thought. 

Isabella really couldn’t see how that would be a good way to live at all, but she hadn’t died before so could she really blame him, “You’ve got to do the job though,” She perked up again, hoping he wasn’t actually being serious, “You have to ferry souls to the next world,” Isabella continued to explain. 

Will nodded his agreement, “Or end up just like Jones,” He said, stroking his chin to mock the tentacles. 

Jack wrinkled his nose, “I don’t have the face for tentacles,” He decided, “But immortal has to count for something, eh? Oh!” He exclaimed, unclasping his compass from his belt and passing it over to Will. 

“What’s this for?” Will asked, accepting the compass nonetheless. 

Jack shrugged, “It hasn’t been working for me lately, can’t get it to change course. But think like me, it’ll come to you,” He explained, wasting no time in blowing a deep breath straight into Will’s face. 

Isabella was a second too late, watching helplessly as Jack reached forward and pushed Will straight over the edge of the Pearl, “My regards to Davy Jones!” Jack called as Isabella joined him over the edge of the Pearl’s railing, to watch as the barrel Will was working on was pushed into the water with him by Jack. 

Isabella wasted no time in spinning around to glare at Jack, “That’s your great plan?” She demanded, “You want to sail on the Dutchman, forever?” 

Jack shrugged, “Wouldn’t be so bad, being able to sail forever,” He grinned, clearly still caught up in his idea of being immortal, “‘Sides, I’d make sure there was a spot for you in the crew,” He said, taking a step closer to her as he did. 

Isabella pursed her lips, not quite knowing what to say to him, she couldn’t say she agreed with his logic, she found the thought of living forever to be quite daunting, but Jack clearly didn’t, and she wasn’t going to be able to stop him if he set his mind on something, “If you insist,” She decided on wanting to get away for a little while to think about things on her own. 

Thankfully, when she spun on her heel to get her distance, Jack didn’t follow, and she found herself going below deck, just wanting to sit and think. It was strange to her that Jack’s plan was to kill Davy Jones, she supposed it would be good for Will and Elizabeth, but at the same time a part of her really didn’t want Jack to live forever. Before she knew what was happening, she was drifting off in the chair she’d sat on, deciding to leave it for tomorrow. 

* * *

The next morning, Isabella instantly regretted her decision to sleep in a small chair down below, the crick in her neck was definitely going to bother her for the rest of the morning, which was something she wasn’t thrilled about. She was hoping that they’d at least be able to make it to shipwreck cove today and stock up on supplies while they were there. 

She was thankful that once she got above deck there was plenty of work to be done, it was a nice distraction for the majority of the morning. 

Her attention was drawn elsewhere when Gibbs announced that they were getting closer to Shipwreck Cove, and she instantly became interested in the fantastical pirate cove they were heading to. 

“Look alive, and keep a weather eye!” Gibbs called, moving to stand over at the edge of the Pearl so he could look out over the water, “Not for naught it’s called Shipwreck Island, where lies Shipwreck Cove in the town of Shipwreck,” He warned. 

Isabella was quick to join him at the side of the Pearl to look over the railing, seeing nothing but jagged rocks for miles, “Clever name,” She laughed. 

She couldn’t help but jump when Jack came up behind her and let his hand settle on the small of her back, drawing himself closer to her, “For all that pirates are clever cobbs, we are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things,” He joked. 

“Aye,” Gibbs agreed. 

Isabella wanted to move away from Jack’s touch, but with Gibbs on the other side of her there was nowhere for her to go at the moment, “I once sailed with a geezer lost both of his arms and part of his eye,” He said with a grimace. 

She frowned, looking up at him, “What did you call him?” She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her as she turned to face him now. 

Jack looked down at her in response, “Larry,” Was all he offered. 

Isabella couldn’t help but laugh at that, a genuine smile coming to her face as she tried to muffle her laughter. Jack was grinning back at her, she wouldn’t be surprised if he was nervous about going to Shipwreck Cove, so she was happy to lighten the mood for a moment. 

“That’s a ridiculous story,” She giggled. 

With a glance up at Jack, she realized that he looked far too pleased with himself, and she instantly sobered up, noticing that Jack had taken the opportunity to curl his arm further around her while she was laughing, “Aye,” He agreed. 

Isabella was quick to clear her throat, quickly sobering herself up, “Well, perhaps we should get back to work,” She decided, happy that they were finally getting close to the island. 

Before she knew what was going on, Jack used his grip on her to keep her in place, stopping her from leaving so quickly, “You’re looking a little red,” He commented, frowning down at her as he scrutinized her face. 

She blinked a few times, not quite knowing where he was going with this, “I think I’ve been in the sun for too long, maybe I’ll grab a new hat when we get to Shipwreck Cove,” She said, trying to deter him from whatever he was thinking. 

She didn’t even have the chance to try and pull away again before Jack was taking his own hat off his head and plopping it down on top of hers, shielding her face from the blinding sun, “Hold onto that for me, darling,” He decided, letting go of her after that and marching off to Captain the ship again as they got closer to shore. 

Isabella was slightly stunned by the gesture, it was almost thoughtful, but at the same time, she really didn’t care to be seen wearing Jack’s hat. Turning around with the intent to chase him down, Isabella realized that Jack had made it back to the wheel of the Pearl, and was actually getting some work done. She didn’t really want to interrupt him at the moment, and having the sun off her face in the meantime felt really nice. 

Adjusting his hat on her head, she decided she would listen and hold onto it for a little while, at least until they reached land. 

When they finally reached the island, Isabella made sure she had a good view of the Cove, wanting to see the place she’d grown up hearing stories about. There were already several ships that had arrived at the island, and it looked like there was plenty of room for more ships to show up! 

“Look at them all,” Pintel breathed, having come up next to Isabella with several others to look at all the ships. 

“There’s not been a gathering like this in our lifetime,” Barbossa perked up. 

“And I owe them all money,” Jack muttered under his breath, clearly not as in awe as the rest of them were. 

Isabella wasted no time in turning towards Jack and Barbossa, unsure which one of them she should address, so she decided it would be safest to ask the both of them, “Are we going ashore?” She asked, feeling excited at the prospect of getting to see all of the most fearsome pirates that she grew up reading about. 

Barbossa spoke up before Jack could, “Aye, I reckon the rest will be showing up soon,” He said, still looking over at all of the ships surrounding them.

“There’s more?” She couldn’t help asking. 

This time Jack perked up, making himself known in the conversation, “Of course there are,” He said, sounding pleased with himself for speaking up. 

Barbossa rolled his eyes and stalked away, leaving Jack and Isabella alone once more, “I suppose you’ll want this back,” She offered, finally taking off his hat and passing it back over to him. 

“I won’t need it until we’re back on the Pearl,” He said, waving her offer away with a hand. 

She frowned, knowing how important his hat was to him, she already had his piece of eight, she didn’t want to take something else from him. But Jack also seemed very adamant about not taking his hat back so soon, “Alright,” She said, hesitantly fitting the hat back onto her head while narrowing her eyes at him. 

“Let’s get to the boats,” Jack offered, turning on his heel and expecting her to follow after him. 

Rolling her eyes, Isabella did decide to follow, her curiosity about the island getting the better of her, especially since Jack probably knew as much about the Pirate Lords and Shipwreck Cove as Barbossa, and at the moment, she wanted to learn as much as she could about all of the pirates she was going to run into. 

She quickly caught up to Jack, feeling very excited all of the sudden, “Can you tell me more about the Pirate Lords?” She asked, watching as Jack fiddled with some ropes to lower a longboat into the water below as the Pearl’s anchor was dropped. 

Once the boat was safely in the water, Jack offered her a hand, urging her to head over the railing, “After you,” He offered. 

Isabella blew a piece of hair out of her face, but accepted his hand, hoping that once their boat was full Jack would be more willing to answer her question. Just as she started to lower herself into the boat, she was surprised to see Barbossa walk back up towards the two of them, “What are ye doin’?” He asked, narrowing his eyes at Jack. 

“Scoping out the Cove, surveying the land while you wait out here for the rest of the pirates to show up,” Jack explained quickly, waving at Isabella to continue to climb down the Pearl, but she was too interested in what Barbossa had to say now. 

The older man didn’t seem too amused with Jack’s plan, “I’m disinclined to agree,” He countered. 

“So the meeting isn’t happening yet?” Isabella perked up, unsure why her and Jack were going ashore already then. 

Barbossa shook his head, “Nay,” He told her. 

Jack was quick to cut in though, “Course not, but we’re going to get a head start,” He countered. 

Isabella chose to perk up again, “I think that’s a great idea, actually, we’ll go make sure everything is going according to plan,” She said, surprising even herself at her agreement with Jack. 

Barbossa raised an eyebrow at her, but she was more focused on Jack’s reaction. His head shot around to look at her, his mouth falling open for a brief second before he composed himself, “Right then, off we go,” Jack decided, shooing Isabella towards the boat once more. 

She rolled her eyes, but actually listened this time, watching as he scrambled down after her, “Move,” Jack ordered once they were both in the boat, and she shifted around so they were sitting back to back, Jack working with the paddles to get them to shore. 

“So are you going to answer my question now?” She asked, turning her head slightly so he couldn’t pretend to not hear her. 

Jack grunted as he rowed their boat closer to shore, “What did you want to know?” He asked, only hesitating for a moment. 

“Who are the other pirate lords?” She asked, deciding to start off with simple questions. 

“Can’t say I remember them all,” Jack confessed, “There’s Barbossa, Sao Feng, Mistress Ching, Captaine Chevalle,” He listed off, getting lost after that, “And myself.” 

“And this is the first time you are all meeting?” She continued with her questions. 

Jack didn’t stop rowing as he answered her, “Aye, not under the best circumstances, mind you,” He muttered. 

“And they all have one of these?” She asked, realizing only after she asked that Jack couldn’t see that she was holding up his piece of eight, “Uh, sorry, they all have a piece of eight?” Isabella clarified. 

“More or less,” Jack said, unhelpfully. 

Isabella was too focused on the piece of eight to care about his halfhearted response at the moment, “I suppose I should give this back to you now,” She said, feeling strangely attached to the coin at this point, happy she’d kept it safe for him while he’d been dead. 

“I’m not planning on using my piece today,” He confessed to her. 

“Why not?” Isabella asked. 

But Jack didn’t seem to care to answer her at the moment, their boat coming up against the dock at that point and distracting him for the moment. He quickly tied their boat to the docks and held out his hand to help Isabella out of the boat and onto shore. 

She was so excited to be on the island her previous question was completely forgotten. Jack was quick to sling his arm around her, pulling her forward as the two of them took a stroll down the docks, “Shipwreck Island, is it everything you thought it would be?” Jack asked. 

Isabella couldn’t say she was too impressed by the small dock and the lack of pirates that seemed to be on the island at the moment, she hoped that the meeting later would be much more interesting, but she wasn’t about to tell Jack that, “Of course it is,” She shot back. 

“There’s more to it than meets the eye, luv,” Jack said cryptically as he continued to lead her closer to the island. 

“Where are we going?” She asked, noticing a building that she thought was the obvious choice for where the meeting would’ve been, “I thought we were going to scope out the area,” She said, repeating his words. 

She hoped that Jack wasn’t planning on running away once more, she was sure there wasn’t much she could do to stop him, but she would try if she had to, “We are scoping out the land,” He corrected her, clearly having someplace in mind he wanted to go. 

Isabella didn’t want to be dragged around aimlessly if they weren’t planning on going to the meeting, so she ripped herself out of his grip, narrowing her eyes at him as she put her hands on her hips to stare him down, “Where are we going then?” She asked, wanting to scold him for running but keeping her mouth shut for the meantime, hoping that she was wrong thinking he was going to run. 

Jack seemed to know what she was thinking as he flashed her a bright grin, “We’ll come back here in no time,” He assured her, “Now are you coming, or not?” Jack asked, offering her his arm this time around. 

“You’re not going to tell me?” She demanded, not liking the situation at all. 

Of course Jack had an answer for her immediately, “You promised me your trust again, luv,” He brought up. 

“And you promised to tell me everything you were doing,” She countered. 

Jack shrugged, “This is a surprise,” Was all he said, growing tired of her arguing and reaching forward to grab her around the waist and toss her over his shoulder. 

Isabella shrieked, hating how easily he could just toss her around, “What are you doing?” She demanded, wondering briefly in the back of her mind how no one was around to notice her make such a commotion. 

“You were taking too much time,” He countered, successfully managing to pin her legs down against his body. 

He’d picked up the pace, and Isabella let out a groan when she bounced painfully against his shoulder, “Fine, I’ll come with you!” She argued, trying to push herself up against his back so it wouldn’t be so uncomfortable for her. 

“Too late,” Jack countered, and she was sure he was grinning ear to ear. 

Isabella let out a huff, collapsing against him, hoping he’d tire out from her weight and put her down, but of course that wasn’t the case. Jack marched through the dense forest that had surrounded them much too quickly for Isabella’s liking and only set her down once he was sure they were where he wanted to be. 

She brushed herself off, looking around to see what was so special about where Jack had brought her, “We’re in a forest,” She frowned, feeling confused. 

“Do you hear that?” Jack asked, ignoring what she was saying once more. 

Isabella hesitated, letting herself actually pay attention to what was around her, and finding herself surprised to hear running water, “Is there a stream?” She asked, trying to look past the thick brush that surrounded them. 

“You’re on the right track,” Jack grinned, one of his hands coming up to rest on her back while the other reached forward to push some of the brush to the side. 

Jack pushed her in front of him, and instantly she was shocked at what she was looking at. Right in front of them two of them was an absolutely beautiful waterfall that led into a crystal clear lagoon beneath them. 

“It’s a waterfall?” She asked, not looking back at Jack as he pushed her closer to the pool of water in front of the two of them. 

Jack was hovering very close behind her now, “It is,” He agreed, guiding them up until they were both standing at the edge of the rocks surrounding the waterfall. 

“I’ve never seen one,” Isabella confessed, wondering why Jack brought her here. 

He looked almost surprised at that, “I can’t deprive you of your first experience then,” Isabella finally turned to look at him as he stopped touching her. 

Jack was quick to strip off his coat, boots, and other effects, throwing them in a pile on top of the rocks, “What are you doing?” She asked, feeling more curious than annoyed now. 

He was quick to send her a wink, turning towards the waterfall then and jumping off the rocks they were standing on to dive into the water below. Isabella couldn’t help but laugh when he came out of the water, a grin on his face as he waved to her, trying to shout to her over the sound of the waterfall, but she couldn’t quite hear him. 

“Hold on!” She called, knowing he probably wouldn’t be able to hear her either, but she was too excited now to just wait up on the rocks any longer. 

She took off Jack’s hat, and her own jacket and boots, wanting to join him in the beautiful water blow. Once she was down to her shirt and trousers, she turned to look down at Jack. Brushing her nerves off, she copied Jack, diving down into the water below. She quickly popped out of the water to look at the waterfall nearly raining down on her. 

“This is amazing!” She cried, turning to face Jack who was treading in the water nearby, “How did you find this?” 

“Wasn’t sure it was still here, found it the first time I came to Shipwreck Cove,” He explained to her, swimming closer to her as he did so. 

Isabella rolled herself over so she was floating on her back next to him, “Well, it's the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” She confessed, still caught up in the beauty of the waterfall she was swimming so close to. 

Jack was most definitely grinning, “And you didn’t want to come,” He teased. 

She rolled her eyes again, but couldn’t help the smile that came to her face, “You didn’t tell me you were taking me to a waterfall!” She countered, spinning around to face him once more, only to see that Jack had started to swim back towards the rocks that they had both just jumped from, “Where are you going?” she called out to him, not wanting to leave so soon. 

Jack flashed her a grin and clamored back up the rocks, climbing up to a much higher level than the two of them had jumped off a moment ago. He looked perfectly at ease up at the top of the rocks, the sun slanting across his face. His smile was bigger than Isabella had ever seen it, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. 

When he dove into the water again, she couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her, but of course Jack landed in the water perfectly. She frowned when he didn’t pop out of the water so soon, and decided to swim back towards where he’d just dove. 

She didn’t get too far though. 

Isabella let out a shriek when something touched her foot, immediately backpedaling just as Jack popped out of the water inches in front of her. 

Immediately she slapped at his hands that were inching towards her, “You scared me!” She accused, splashing some water at him as she calmed herself down. 

“Wasn’t my intention, luv,” He confessed, still treading very close to her. 

She knew he was lying, but she didn’t care to call him out on it at the moment, she was just enjoying her time with him. Isabella found herself watching as Jack continued to dive off higher and higher rocks, very impressively landing in the water each time. Eventually, she could feel herself shivering in the cold water, and not bothering to shout over the roar of the waterfall, she swam back to shore, hoping to lay out in the sun for a little while. 

She could tell he was following after her, and she didn’t mind, especially when he helped her climb back up the rocks. Isabella collapsed against the sunny slab once they both hauled themselves back up, enjoying how the sun felt on her face, hoping that her clothes would start to dry out quickly. Jack was quick to lay next to her, reaching over to pull a flask out of his jacket pocket, to Isabella’s amusement. 

“You’re going to get drunk right before the meeting?” She teased, rolling over on her side so she could see him better. 

Jack took a swig from the flask, passing it over to her afterwards, “Best time to do it,” He confessed. 

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence after that, Isabella just enjoying being off the Pearl for a little while in the most beautiful place she’d ever seen. 

Isabella was thankful it was so warm and sunny out, their clothes were able to dry out pretty quickly where they ended up laying and after only a little prompting from her, Jack finally agreed to go see if the meeting was going to be started soon. 

She was quick to throw her jacket back over her shoulders and lace her boots up, hesitating only when it came to Jack’s hat, “Time for you to take this back?” She asked, passing the hat up to him from where she was still sitting on the rocks. 

He accepted it, fitting it onto his head and offering his hand down to her to pull her to her feet. Once the two of them left the waterfall, it was clear to see that more ships had shown up, and Jack quickly led her inside a crumbling courtroom, where a whole horde of pirates seemed to have gathered. 

Isabella spotted Barbossa almost immediately and quickly took the lead from Jack, dragging him over to that side of the table, only pausing when Jack pulled out his sword to stab it into the Caribbean sea on a large globe. 

There was a lot going on in the crowded courtroom, and it was only when Barbossa slammed a cannonball down on the table in front of them a few times that the room quieted down, “As he who issued summons, I convene this, the fourth Brethren Court. To confirm your lordship and right to be heard, present now your pieces of eight, my fellow Captains,” He ordered. 

Isabella turned to Jack, her hand coming up to pull at the necklace, but Jack was quick to stop her, discreetly sliding his arm around her shoulders to pull her jacket further around her body, successfully hiding her necklace. She frowned up at him but didn’t question it, holding her jacket shut by herself now. 

Ragetti was tasked with walking around the table to collect the pieces of eight from the other pirate lords, and Isabella immediately noticed that most of them were definitely not offering up pieces of eight like the one Jack had. 

“Those aren’t pieces of eight, they’re pieces of junk!” Pintel was quick to point out from their side of the table, talking in a hushed voice. 

Gibbs nodded his agreement, “Aye, the original plan was to use nine pieces of eight to bind Calypso, but when the first court met, the Brethren were to a one, skint broke,” He explained. 

“So change the name,” Pintel countered. 

“To what? ‘Nine pieces of whatever we have in our pockets at the time?’ Oh yes, that sounds very piraty,” Gibbs answered. 

Isabella had to agree, it was rather odd, but she couldn’t help to be impressed that Jack’s piece seemed to be very authentic, compared to the playing card she watched another man throw in the bowl. She couldn’t help but wonder how Jack had gotten the title of pirate lord, and she silently cursed herself for not asking him about that earlier the opportunity slipping away for the meanwhile. 

Barbossa cleared his throat, “Mr. Ragetti, if you will,” He asked, holding out his hand. 

Ragetti looked hesitant, “I kept it safe for you, just like you said when you gave it to me.” 

The older pirate nodded, “Aye, you did, and now I need it back,” He said, wacking the back of Ragetti’s head so his wooden eye popped out of its socket, falling straight into Barbossa’s  splayed hand. 

“Sparrow!” One of the pirate lords called out, pointing accusingly towards Jack who still hadn’t sacrificed anything. 

Jack hummed, his arm slipping from where he had it around Isabella’s shoulders, as he addressed the crowd, “Might I point out that we are still short one pirate lord, and I’m content as a cucumber to wait until Sao Feng joins us,” He decided. 

“Sao Feng is dead,” Isabella shot her head around to see the last person she expected to see at the moment had entered the courtroom. Elizabeth was quick to send her sword into the globe that had every other pirate lord’s sword sticking out of it, “He fell to the Flying Dutchman.” 

“And made you Captain? They’re just giving the bloody title away now,” Jack sighed. 

Thankfully, Elizabeth didn’t care too much about what Jack was saying, “Listen,” She urged, “Our location has been betrayed. Jones is under the command of Lord Beckett, they’re on their way here.” 

“Who is this betrayer?” Another one of the pirate lords exclaimed. 

Isabella felt her entire body seize up, she didn’t know how she became Jack’s accomplice so quickly, but the last thing she wanted was to be found out by any one of the pirates here, especially since one of them already expressed their distaste for Jack! 

Barbossa perked up, “Not likely anyone among us!” He argued. 

“Where’s Will?” Elizabeth finally asked, her eyes finding Isabella’s finally. 

Jack leaned further into Elizabeth, “Not among us,” He quickly answered. 

“And it matters not how they found us. The question is, what will we do now that they have?” Barbossa asked, clearly trying to move forward with his meeting. 

“We fight!” Elizabeth quickly added, to Isabella’s agreement, but sadly, everyone else at the table seemed to think that idea was funny. 

An older woman chose to speak up then, “Shipwreck Cove is a fortress,” She explained, “A well supplied fortress. There is no need to fight if they can’t get to us!” 

“She has a point,” Jack muttered in Isabella’s ear. 

Isabella quickly focused her attention back on Barbossa, trying to ignore how close to her Jack was standing next to her at the moment, as if that would bode well for either of them! 

“There’s a third course,” Barbossa explained, “In another age, at this very spot, the first Brethren Court captured the Sea Goddess, and bound her in bones. That was a mistake. Oh, we tamed the seas for ourselves, aye, but opened the door to Beckett and his ilk! Better were the days when mastery of seas came not from bargains struck with eldritch creatures, but from the sweat of a man’s brow and the strength of his back alone. Y’all know this to be true. Gentlemen, ladies. We must free Calypso,” He ended, holding his arms out and waiting for the Lords to agree with him. 

Instantly, chaos broke out at his proposal, “Shoot him!” Came the first exclamation. 

“Cut out his tongue!” Another man demanded. 

Jack seemed to be the happiest he’d been this whole meeting at this point, “Shoot him and cut out his tongue, then shoot his tongue! And cut that scraggly beard,” He called out. 

Isabella shot Jack a warning look, which he very pointedly ignored. 

“Sao Feng would have agreed with Barbossa,” Tai Huang announced from where he stood next to Elizabeth. 

“Calypso was our enemy then, she will be our enemy now!” A lord called out. 

“Who is that?” Isabella quickly interjected, hoping Jack would be able to help her put names to faces. 

“Jocard,” He muttered, a grimace on his face. 

Another lord spoke up then, “It’s not likely her mood has improved!” He called out, and Jack gave her the name of that Lord as well. 

“I would agree with Sao Feng, we free Calypso!” Villaneuva, the name she was quickly given, called out. 

“You threaten me?” Chevalle countered. 

“I silence you!” Villaneuva shouted back, causing the table to erupt in even more noise. 

Isabella’s jaw nearly dropped, “This is madness!” She exclaimed. 

Jack shrugged, “This is politics,” He said. 

Elizabeth looked more than annoyed with the Pirates surrounding them, “Meanwhile our enemies are bearing down on us,” She breathed. 

“If they not be here already,” Barbossa agreed, pulling out his pistol as he moved to stand on the table, much to Isabella’s amusement.

As soon as he fired into the ceiling, the room went silent once more, “It was the first court what imprisoned Calypso, and we will be the ones to set her free, and in her gratitude, she will see fit to grant us boons,” He called out.

“Whose boons? Your boons? Utterly deceptive twaddlespeak, says I!” Jack called out, making himself known once more. 

Barbossa sighed as he looked down at Jack, “If you have a better alternative, please, share,” He offered, looking like he’d much rather have anyone else speak at the moment. 

Jack grinned, moving away from Isabella for the first time since they’d left the Pearl to address the whole room, “Cuttlefish. Let us not, dear friends, forget our dear friends the cuttlefish. Flippant glorious little sausages. Pen ‘em up together and they’ll devour each other without a second thought. Human nature, isn’t it?...or....or fish nature,” By this point, Jack had made it halfway around the table, settling his hands down on one of the lord’s shoulders, “So yes, we could hole up here well provisioned and well armed and half of us would be dead within the month, which seems grim to me any way you slice it. Or, as my learned colleague so naively suggests, we could release Calypso, and we can pray that she will be merciful. I rather doubt it. Can we in fact pretend that she is anything other than a woman scorned, like which fury hell hath no? We cannot. Res ipsa loquitur tabula in naufragio. We are left with but one option. I agree with, and I cannot believe the words are comin’ out of me mouth, Captain Swann. We must fight,” He finished, ending up on the opposite end of the table from where he started, holding his hand out towards Elizabeth, who looked just as shocked as everyone else. 

“You’ve only ever run from a fight!” Barbossa immediately countered. 

Jack looked taken aback, “I have not!” He argued. 

“You have too!” 

“Have not!” 

“You have too, and you know it!” Barbossa shot back, sounding very childish. 

Jack shook his head, “Have not, slander and calumny! I have only ever embraced the oldest and noblest of pirate traditions. I submit here and now, that is what we all must do, we must fight… to run away,” He finished. 

Isabella was almost impressed with the way Jack was able to take control of the room so quickly, she knew he had a way with words that most people could hardly comprehend, and he was always thinking about his next move, but to be clued in on what he was doing and watch him change the steaks so quickly, it was something Isabella didn’t want to look away from. 

“Aye!” Gibbs agreed.

“As per the code, an act of war, and this be exactly that, can only be declared by the pirate king,” Barbossa explained, quick to shut down Jack’s suggestion. 

Jack frowned from across the table, “You made that up!” He declared. 

Barbossa raised an eyebrow, “Did I now? I call on Captain Teague, keeper of the code,” He called out. 

“SeSumbhajee proclaims this all to be folly! Hang the code! Who cares-?” SeSumbhajee’s assistant couldn’t even finish his sentence before he was shot straight through the head. 

Isabella’s eyes widened when an older man with long dark hair dropped his pistol, strutting over to where Jack was standing at the far end of the table, “The Code is the law,” He spoke up, getting everyone’s attention before moving until he was standing directly behind Jack, “You’re in my way, boy.” 

Jack immediately shuffled to the side, letting Captain Teague take his place at the head of the table. Isabella couldn’t tear her eyes away from the older man, he looked much too familiar, and with a glance at Jack, it hit her, they looked much too similar to not be related to one another. 

Teague was quickly presented the book of the Pirate’s Code, flipping through the pages before addressing the room again, “Barbossa is right,” He announced. 

Jack held up a hand, moving to look over Teague’s shoulder, “Hold on a minute,” He demanded, looking through the pages, “It shall be the duty of the king to declare war, parlay with said adversaries… fancy that,” He muttered. 

Chevalle quickly shook his head, “There’s not been a king since the first court, and that’s not likely to change,” He called. 

“Not likely,” Teague agreed. 

“Who not?” Elizabeth asked. 

“Because the king is elected by a popular vote,” Gibbs explained, much to the sister’s pleasure. 

Barbossa didn’t seem too pleased with how his meeting was going, “And each pirate only ever votes for hisself,” He frowned. 

“I call for a vote,” Jack immediately countered. 

The first Pirate Lord stood up, and immediately Isabella realized this was going to be a good way for her to learn who all of the pirate lords were, “I vote for Ammand, the cosair,” He called out. 

“Captain Chevalle, the penniless frenchman,” Chevalle declared. 

SeSumbhajee had a new assistant fill in since the first had been shot, “SeSumbhajee votes for SeSumbhajee,” He announced. 

“Mistress Cheng,” The older woman called out. 

“Gentleman Jocard,” A man called. 

“Elizabeth Swann,” Her sister announced. 

“Barbossa.” 

“Villaneuva.” 

“Elizabeth Swann.” 

As soon as Elizabeth’s name left Jack’s mouth, everyone’s eyes went straight to where Jack was standing, but none were more surprised than Elizabeth herself, “What?” She asked, jaw dropped. 

“I know, curious isn’t it?” Jack countered, a small smile coming to his face. 

Jocard pushed his chair back, coming to his feet, “Why didn’t you vote for me?” He demanded, and then once more, everyone was shouting at each other once more. 

Jack held up his hands, raising his voice to speak above the noise in the room, “Am I to understand that you lot will not be keeping to the code, then?” He asked. 

The soft guitar that had been playing in the background came to a quick end when a string broke and Captain Teague shot a deadly look Jack’s way. 

The room fell silent as Mistress Cheng got to her feet once more, “Very well,” She decided, “Captain Swann, what say you, King of the Brethren Court?” 

Isabella felt a twinge of excitement run through her at her sister’s new title, this was something the two of them would’ve never even dreamed of, and to hear it was a completely surreal experience. 

“Prepare every vessel that floats, at dawn, we’re at war,” Elizabeth declared. 

Once more the pirates started to create a commotion, but this time it sounded much more like battle cries, sending waves of excitement and nervousness through Isabella. Now that a fight between the Brethren Court and the Navy was a real threat, she had no clue what to expect! 

It didn’t take long for the Pirates to disperse themselves, most likely heading back to their ships to wait until dawn, and it wasn’t long before Jack’s crew was heading back to the Pearl as well, sans Jack who seemed to have slipped off somewhere. Isabella could only hope that he wasn’t planning on actually running away, which seemed very true to character, but he promised her he’d tell her what he was doing, and he didn’t tell her about this. 

She was thankful Elizabeth had decided to join them on the Pearl instead of spending the night with Sao Feng’s crew, she wanted to learn more about what might’ve happened to the dead Pirate Lord, and how Elizabeth came to be the newest Pirate Lord. 

Elizabeth wasted no time in regaling her tale to Isabella, and the hard part came when she wanted to know about what happened to Will. So Isabella told her… most of the story. 

“Jack decided to lock Will up as soon as we escaped Beckett, but of course he was able to break himself out, and he was creating a trail for Beckett to follow after,” Isabella explained, unsure how to go about telling Elizabeth the next part. She didn’t want to lie to her sister, but for some reason, she felt like she owed something to Jack at the moment, and she honestly believed he wanted to do the right thing! It was a lot for her to deal with, so she made the decision to stick with Jack for now, hoping that it would be the right one, “Will ended up getting Jack’s compass, and he went off on his own towards Jones and Beckett, wanting to lead them to Shipwreck Cove,” She explained, hoping that Elizabeth wouldn’t ask her any more questions at the moment. 

Elizabeth only nodded in response, clearly thinking about what could’ve happened to Will now that he was with Beckett and Jones, and Isabella felt slightly guilty that she hadn’t fought harder to keep Will on the Pearl, but at the same time, she was sure that Jack wouldn’t have abandoned Will like that if he didn’t think Will could fight his way out of the situation. 

She wasn’t thrilled at the somber mood that had seemed to inflict every boat that was docked at Shipwreck Cove, but there wasn’t much she could do at the moment but wait for the sun to come up the next morning. 

* * *

The next morning, the Pearl was the first ship to leave Shipwreck Cove, ready to come head to head with the Royal Navy and Davy Jones himself. Isabella made sure to keep herself busy as they prepared to wage war, not wanting to waste too much time letting her mind wander, she knew that would only make her more anxious. She was thankful also to have spent most of the morning with her sister, finally getting to hear what had happened aboard Sao Feng’s ship, and how Elizabeth had become his replacement amongst the pirate lords. Even though it was very upsetting to hear about James’ fate aboard the Dutchman, and equally as upsetting for Elizabeth to tell, it was very interesting to hear about her sister’s time away from the Pearl. 

It didn’t take long before Isabella and Elizabeth were pulled to the side by Barbossa, who was discussing their plan of action for the rest of their morning, and their potential face off against Jones and Beckett. 

“We’ll be meeting Beckett ashore, then?” Isabella asked, her heart leaping into her chest as the thought of coming face to face with him again. 

Barbossa nodded in agreement, “Aye, we’ll be needing to discuss the terms of agreement to see if we can come to an accord,” He explained. 

“And Jack’s coming too?” She continued, not having seen the man yet that morning, which was concerning, especially because it was Jack, she only hoped that he hadn’t jumped ship again. 

Clearly Barbossa didn’t seem too thrilled about this, “Aye,” He muttered, turning back out towards the front of the Pearl to look over the horizon, as if he was waiting for the first glimpse of the armada. 

“Do you think there’s a chance we will come to an accord?” Elizabeth asked, moving to Barbossa’s other side, looking out over the edge as well. 

Isabella was pretty sure that there was no way Beckett would give up his quest to eradicate the world of pirates, and what better time than now, when all the pirates were in the same place, but she could be wrong, she could at least have some hope that things didn’t have to end in bloodshed. 

“Not likely,” Barbossa unhelpfully supplied. 

Isabella shook her head, not wanting to look out over the foggy water any longer, and deciding to see if there was anything else she could help out with before the four of them were set to go confront the enemy. 

She didn’t get too far in her quest before she spotted Jack, her course of action immediately changing when she noticed him take control of the Pearl’s wheel. 

“Jack,” She called, happy to have caught him while he was stuck actually doing work. 

A grin came across his face when he caught her eye, “Izzy,” He practically purred in response. 

“Have you spoken to Barbossa yet?” She was quick to cut him off, hoping that he was clued in on their plan, knowing that she’d feel much more comfortable with Jack there. 

The smile was immediately wiped from his face, she almost laughed at how dramatic the difference was, “I’m guessing he’s convinced you to come ashore?” Jack scowled, his gaze now focused on the horizon. 

She crossed her arms over her chest, “Yes, I wouldn’t miss it,” Isabella confessed. 

“You don’t have to see  _ him _ ,” Jack continued, clearly talking about Beckett. 

Isabella hesitated for a split second, “I think I should though,” She decided, trying more and more to convince herself it was the right thing to do. 

Jack turned to look at her again, narrowing his eyes at her, as if he was assessing her, “And should Beckett ask for your martyrdom?” He pressed, raising an eyebrow down at her. 

“I sincerely doubt the pirate king would allow me to make that decision…” Isabella answered honestly, having thought over this possibility a thousand times already. Jack nodded his agreement, and a thought came to her, “I don’t think you would either,” She confessed. 

He remained as unreadable as ever, “Course not,” He scoffed, shaking his head, “Beckett isn’t taking you away from the Pearl so easily,” Jack answered confidently. 

Immediately, Isabella felt her face light up. Of course it was beyond comforting to hear that from him, but at the same time there was something else, something that made her heart drop and her face flush, and she knew she had to change the subject, “I’m not sitting back on the Pearl though, I’m still coming with you,” She insisted, decided that would be the end of that conversation. 

Jack was grinning again, shooting her a wink, “Wouldn’t want you to miss it,” He answered. 

She looked back out over the horizon, not liking how the fog had really started to settle in, obscuring their view, but when she squinted, she was pretty sure she could see something in the distance, “Do you see that?” She asked, pointing out at what looked like a ship in the distance. 

Jack didn’t even get the chance to respond before the ship started to become more and more clear, the Endeavor revealing herself to the Pearl. 

The rest of the crew seemed to notice at the same time Isabella had, clearly everyone was very much on edge, “The enemy’s here, let’s take her!” Marty shouted, prompting the crew to all give battle cries of their own. 

Isabella was drawn away from the sight of Jack’s crew when Jack reached over to nudge her in the side, “Parlay?” He muttered, his eyes still locked on the horizon. 

Her attention was brought to Jack for only a second before she was turning her head to see what he was looking at, noticing that the entire armada had joined the Endeavor amongst the fog, creating an impressive army. The flutter that was in Isabella’s stomach earlier having completely turned around, making her feel like she was going to be sick. 

She was so caught up in looking out at the horrifying sight in front of them, she hadn’t even realized Jack had called over Mr. Gibbs to take the wheel, and instead reached out to take her hand, her palm tightly clasped against his own.  

“Let’s go,” Jack prompted her, pulling at her hand with his newfound grip. 

She would’ve been embarrassed by him dragging her around if it weren’t for the nervous energy that had rolled over the ship, but he was quickly able to lead her towards the small boat that had been prepared for the four of them. 

Elizabeth had been the first to climb down, Isabella quickly following after her sister, the two men taking up the rear. It was a silent trip to the small island Barbossa led them to, no one really having much to say. Isabella couldn’t tear her eyes away from the island as it got closer and closer to them, wanting to know what was going to happen to them once they were finally face to face with the enemy. 

Climbing out of the boat when they reached shore, Isabella feigned confidence, happy she was walking between Elizabeth and Jack as they started their trek down the long beach. 

It didn’t take long for Isabella to make out three figures in the distance, Jones was the first she was able to pick out, having the most imposing silhouette. She noticed Beckett next, standing in the middle of the other two figures, his hands behind his back, almost as if he was patiently waiting for them to arrive. It took her a second longer to realize Will was standing next to Beckett, and she was thankful that he had managed to get safely aboard the Endeavor, but she dreaded what might come of him being here. 

The walk felt like it took forever, but once Isabella was practically standing face to face with Beckett, she wished it would’ve lasted longer. She could only hope that this would work out for them in the best way, and maybe they could all escape with their lives, but only time would tell. 


	17. Chapter 17

Isabella wasn’t surprised when Barbossa initiated the conversation, seemingly surprised to see Will standing beside Beckett and Jones, “You be the cur that led these wolves to our door,” Barbossa accused, as soon as they were standing face to face with the enemy. 

Beckett was quick to speak up in Will’s favor, “Don’t blame Turner, he was merely the tool of your betrayal. If you wish to see it’s grand architect, look to your left,” He announced. 

Isabella felt her heart drop as she turned along with Barbossa and Elizabeth to look at Jack, who didn’t look ashamed in the slightest, “My hands are clean in this… figuratively,” He finished, biting at one of his nails as he examined the grime on his hands. 

“My actions are my own and to my own purpose. Jack had nothing to do with it,” Will spoke up, and Isabella let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, happy to not have been exposed as Jack’s accomplice in all of this whatever plan he was setting in motion. 

Jack shot Isabella a grin, clearly pleased with Will at the moment, “Well spoken, listen to the tool!” He declared. 

“Will, I’ve been aboard the Dutchman, I understand the burden you bear, but I fear that cause is lost,” Elizabeth warned, taking a step forward. 

Isabella was happy to not have any attention on her at the moment, but at the same time she hoped that Elizabeth and Will would quickly work things out and they could get back to the Pearl, “No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it,” Will countered. 

Beckett’s attention hadn’t strayed from Jack, it seemed, “If Turner was not acting on your behalf, then how did he come to give me this? You made a deal with me, Jack, to deliver the pirates, we had a witness,” Beckett confessed, motioning now to Isabella, “And here they are. Don’t be bashful, step up, claim your reward,” Gloatingly, Beckett tossed his compass back to Jack. 

Jones was scowling now, clearly wanting to get involved in the bargaining, “Your debt to me is still to be satisfied!” Jones accused, “One hundred years of service aboard the Dutchman, as a start!” He demanded, causing Jack’s face to immediately drop. 

Jack was clearly unconvinced, “That debt was paid, mate… with help,” Jack explained, his hand coming down on Isabella’s shoulder, unexpectedly pulling her to his side. 

She balked, freezing up when she was pulled into him, but thankfully, Jones didn’t seem too bothered by the action, “You escaped!” He shouted. 

Jack’s fingers were tapping up and down Isabella’s arm, as if he was trying to calm his nerves, “Technically-” He trailed off, getting cut off when Elizabeth decided to speak up. 

“I propose an exchange,” She bargained, shooting Isabella a look out of the corner of her eye, “Will leaves with us, you can take Jack.” 

Immediately, Jack tensed up next to her, his fingers stopping their tapping to dig into her shoulder instead. Isabella could instantly sense the tension amongst their group of seven. Her head shot to the side to see Jack glaring over her at her sister, and she wanted to argue Elizabeth’s proposal, but how would she even go about that? 

“Done,” Will agreed. 

“Undone!” Jack demanded, his arm dropping from around Isabella as he argued his case. 

Beckett was almost smiling now, “Done,” He agreed. 

“Elizabeth!” Isabella cut in, not knowing what else to say, but not wanting to lose Jack after they spent so long getting him back. 

Barbossa stepped in closer to Elizabeth as he now began to argue with her, “Jack is one of the nine pirate lords, you have no right-!” He accused. 

Elizabeth only straightened herself up, “King,” She grinned, turning her head sharply towards Jack as if to invite him to contradict her. 

“As you command,” Jack sighed, taking off his hat as he mockingly bowed towards Elizabeth. 

Jack and Will swapped places, the two men staring each other down as they did so, making the already tense situation that much more gut wrenching. Will now stood next to Isabella, and she suddenly had a bad feeling about what would happen to them next. 

Beckett, still with the smallest grin on his face, let his eyes dart over towards Isabella now, “Perhaps we have more to trade?” He asked, turning his gaze on Elizabeth. 

Isabella turned to look at Elizabeth, her heart suddenly racing, “Your bargain?” Elizabeth asked, her eyes narrowed. 

“The compass for your sister,” he said, shrugging as he did so. 

No one had a chance to answer before Jack was speaking up, “And who says I’m making that trade?” He asked, turning his nose up at Beckett. 

“It’s not your trade to make,” Beckett sneered back at him. 

Barbossa turned to Elizabeth with a snarl now, the two sisters still unable to speak up about this new bargain, “If you be saying something, I might be saying something as well,” He said, unexpectedly reaching across Elizabeth to grab Isabella by the arm, pulling her in front of him and sliding his sword across her throat. 

Isabella let out a gasp at the feeling of his sword against her neck, not having expected Barbossa of all people to make such a brash attack towards her, and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Will pulling Elizabeth away from herself and Barbossa, “Let me go,” She demanded, holding her chin up in hopes that he wouldn’t slit her throat. 

“If you be joining Jack, I’ll need something of  _ his _ ,” Barbossa explained, his sword pulling away from her neck, and cutting her homemade necklace clear off her throat. Before any of them could react, Barbossa’s monkey leapt from his shoulder and snatched the piece up from the sand. 

Once Isabella was released Elizabeth was pushing her away from Barbossa and closer to Will, “Barbossa,” She hissed, “She is not going anywhere,” She decided, turning sharply to face Beckett again.

Quickly recovering, Isabella shot Beckett a glare of her own, “And as I’ve said before, I’m not a bargaining chip,” She seethed, not quite sure if she believed what she was hearing from him. 

“Let’s hope our paths cross again, then,” Beckett said, narrowing his eyes at her. 

Isabella glared back at him, not wanting him to think he’s already won. 

Beckett, on the other hand, wasted no time in turning away from her to stare down Elizabeth instead, “Advise your brethren, you can fight and all of you will die, or you can not fight in which case only most of you will die,” He warned. 

Isabella finally let her eyes stray to where Jack was standing, surprised to see that he was glaring at Barbossa, a dark look in his eyes. Looking at him standing so close to the two people who probably hated him the most, which was saying something, was not a nice sight to behold. Isabella wanted him to look at her, so she could let him know she was sorry, but his eyes were focusing on everyone but her. A small part of her wondered when she let herself get this attached to Jack, but that was a problem for another time. 

“You murdered my father,” Elizabeth shot back. 

“He chose his own fate,” Beckett answered. 

Isabella felt her heart drop at the mention of her father, completely forgetting that it was Beckett’s fault he had died. 

“And you have chosen yours,” Elizabeth replied, sounding a little bit too calm for her liking, “We will fight and you will die,” As soon as she was done talking, she spun on her heel and marched away from the other men, Will wasting no time in catching up to her. 

Isabella found herself staring at Jack for a moment, feeling horribly guilty about leaving him with Beckett and Jones. 

“Last chance,” Beckett taunted, very subtly spreading his arms out as if to welcome her to switch sides.

The very sound of his voice made her blood boil, and she couldn’t help but scowl back, “I would never,” She quickly bit back, her attention quickly turning back to Jack, feeling even worse now, “Good luck, Jack,” She decided to grant him, allowing Barbossa to pull her away after that, before she situation could escalate again. 

She hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be to turn and leave Jack, but she couldn’t disagree with Elizabeth now that she was King, and there was no way she would willingly hand herself over to Beckett… She certainly was a pirate now more than ever. 

The walk back to the Pearl went a lot faster than the walk away from it had gone, probably because Isabella couldn’t help her thoughts from running wild! As soon as she turned away from Jack she felt guilty for letting Elizabeth trade him away so easily. Sure, it was his fault in the grand scheme of things that Beckett had found Shipwreck Cove, so maybe it was worth it, but there was still something gnawing at her that told her not to leave him. 

Once they were almost back to the Pearl, Isabella finally felt comfortable enough to speak again, “Do you think there’s a chance Jack might be able to stop them from attacking?” She asked, hoping that if he was able to it wouldn’t be at his own expense. 

“Not enough of a chance to stop us from pursuing our own plans,” Barbossa grit back, clearly not pleased with how their meeting went down, “Best to rely on our own affairs rather than the likes of Jack,” He finished. 

Before she had the chance to get him to elaborate, Will was helping Elizabeth board the Pearl again, and Isabella was quickly ushered up after her. 

Watching Elizabeth and Barbossa shout orders over each other was almost like watching Jack and Barbossa compete, but it was much more amusing watching her sister put the older man in his place. Isabella decided that the Pearl was in good hands at the moment, and without putting much thought into it, she snuck away into Jack’s cabin. 

Entering the room, she realized she didn’t know why she wanted to sneak away for a moment, perhaps it was to get a moment of alone time before the battle could begin, or maybe the guilt about leaving Jack behind brought her here. Whatever the reason was, she didn’t care to focus on it at the moment, instead she decided to look around the small cabin she’d spent more time in than she was willing to admit. 

The first thing she found was a relatively clean bandana, which was surprising, she didn’t realize Jack ever cleaned his, or that he had more than one. Without putting much thought into it, she was tying it into her hair, similar to how Jack wore his own bandana, and forcing her hat back down over the material once she made sure it was secure. It was almost comforting for her to put it on, it was like a part of Jack was still with her, and it would hopefully only bring her good luck. 

She took note of several trinkets she’s never seen before; miscellaneous jewelry that she’d never seen him wear, an old locket, a wind chime, things that weren’t very surprising in Jack’s room. 

Finally she let herself fall backwards on the bed, letting her exhaustion take over in a brief moment of weakness. She knew there was a battle to be won, but she was  _ tired _ . For some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about what was happening to Jack, she wanted to know if he ended up with Beckett or Jones, but either option didn’t bode very well for him. 

Closing her eyes, she groped for her necklace, wanting the comfort of holding onto his piece of eight, but when her fingers grazed her neck, she shot up, remembering immediately that Barbossa had stolen it from her. 

She was so caught up in losing Jack again, she’d forgotten how Barbossa had practically just threatened her life for the piece of eight, and surely he planned to do something with it sooner rather than later. 

Forgetting about Jack for a moment, Isabella let her anger towards Barbossa guide her out of the cabin, forcing her to see what plan they had come up with while she was distracted. 

Exiting the cabin, her attention was immediately captured by Elizabeth, who was clearly trying to get Barbossa to agree to something, “We’ll use the Pearl as a flagship to lead the attack,” Elizabeth strategized, trying to get Barbossa involved as he called out to Pintel and Ragetti. 

Isabella was shocked to see the two men dragging Tia Dalma, bound in ropes, to the upper deck, “What is going on?” She immediately demanded, not liking the fact she wasn’t clued into Barbossa’s plan. 

“Will we, now?” Barbossa mocked, ignoring Isabella completely. 

Pintel and Ragetti were clearly dragging Tia Dalma towards the center of the ship, it looked like the mast was their destination, “This way, Ms. Fish,” Pintel mocked. 

Isabella wasted no time in running after them, “Tia Dalma,” She called, getting the woman’s attention, while Pintel and Ragetti started to attach the ropes to the mast. 

Tia Dalma’s eyes shot up to stare down Isabella, but she didn’t say anything, she only chose to raise her head, staring the younger woman down, and forcing her to talk first. 

“Are you alright?” Isabella managed to ask, feeling slightly intimidated by her gaze. 

She paused a moment, as if assessing Isabella’s intention, “My fate is not mine to control,” She said, turning her glare to where Barbossa was now talking to Will and Elizabeth. 

Her anger towards Barbossa grew even stronger then, he had no right, “Barbossa, you can’t release her,” She spat out, marching towards him with a new determination. 

“You have to give Jack a chance,” Elizabeth argued, clearly having a similar mindset to her sister. 

“Apologies, your majesty,” Barbossa mocked, holding his hand out to his monkey, so he could drop Jack’s piece of eight into his hand, “Too long me fate has not been in my own hands- no longer!” And before either sister could react, he reached forward to pull Elizabeth’s necklace off her neck, throwing it into the bowl with the other pieces. 

Everyone’s eyes were on Barbossa as they watched to see what his next move was, and frankly, Isabella was a little too stunned to attempt to try and stop him again. 

“Be there some sort of rite or incantation?” Mr. Gibbs spoke up, hovering close behind Isabella. 

Barbossa began to march closer to where Tia Dalma was bound, and Isabella quickly followed, not wanting to miss a thing, “Aye,” He agreed, “Items to be brought together… done. Items to be burned. And someone must speak the words, ‘Calypso, I release you from your human bonds’,” He grinned. 

“That’s it?” Pintel demanded, clearly as confused as the rest of them. 

“It was said it must be spoken as if to a lover,” Barbossa confessed, much to the amusement of the crew. 

Before anyone could protest or ask any further questions, Barbossa turned back towards Tia Dalma and held up his bowl, “Calypso, I release you from your human bonds!” He announced, trying to set fire to the pieces. 

“No!” Isabella protested, but before she could move to knock the bowl out of Barbossa’s hands, she was being pulled backwards by Will. 

Thankfully, nothing happened, to Barbossa’s, and the rest of the crew’s confusion, “Nothing happened,” Will breathed. 

Isabella quickly swatted him away from her, “Is that it?” She demanded, feeling downright furious now. 

“You didn’t say it right!” Ragetti quickly cut in, becoming the center of attention almost immediately, “You have to say it right…” He trailed off, slowly making his way over towards Tia Dalma. 

Isabella couldn’t help but be engrossed in what Ragetti was doing, he walked right up to Tia Dalma, swept her hair behind her ear, and leant down, whispering the words directly to her. 

And the effect was immediate. 

The bowl of items slipped from Barbossa’s hands, but instead of crashing to the ground, it started to fly up into the sky, the items simultaneously catching fire. 

Isabella took a step backwards, not liking not knowing what was going to happen next, and Will took her place, stepping forward to get Tia Dalma’s attention, “Tia Dalma,” He called, “Calypso,” It was very tense as he spoke, trying to gain control of the situation before it got too far out of hand, and at his call, the bowl of items dropped to the Pearl’s deck, “When the Brethren Court first imprisoned you, who was it that told them how? Who was it that betrayed you?” He asked, slowly approaching the mast. 

She was shaking as she stared down Will, “Name him!” She demanded. 

“Davy Jones.” The name was barely out of Will’s mouth when Tia Dalma let out a groan, and right before their very eyes, Tia Dalma started to grow to an unbelievable size. 

Isabella quickly backed up, not knowing what was going to happen next, while some members of the crew were quick to grab onto the ropes in an attempt to restrain her, but she doubted that would be very helpful at this point. 

“Calypso!” Barbossa shouted amidst the commotion, “I come before you as a servant, humble and contrite. I have fulfilled me vow, and now ask your favor. Spare meself, me ship, me crew, but unleash your fury upon those who dare pretend yourself their master, or mine,” He grinned, clearly thinking he had pulled something off. 

She seemed to consider this for a moment, and Isabella found herself thinking for a moment that whatever Barbossa thought was going to come from this was going to work. But then, the woman completely changed course, and her calm demeanor changed immediately. She started to shout, spitting out words that no one could understand, and after a few moments of this, she exploded, showering the crew in thousands of crabs. 

Isabella managed to brush the crabs off pretty quickly, and it was almost amusing to watch some other crew members struggle with the small animals, but she quickly sobered up, realizing that Barbossa’s plan had fallen through. 

“She’s not going to help,” She spoke up. 

“What now?” Pintel asked. 

Barbossa grimaced, “Nothing, our final hope has failed us,” He announced. 

Isabella knew that their only hope now was to fight and win, if only to get Jack back, and they had to come up with a plan quickly, “It’s not over yet,” She countered, hoping that someone else would be on her side. 

“There’s still a fight to be had,” Will said, coming up to her side and voicing her thoughts. 

“We’ve an armada against us, and with the Dutchman, there’s no chance,” Gibbs sighed. 

“Only a fool’s chance,” Elizabeth muttered, looking at the ground, clearly trying to come up with a plan. 

Barbossa took a swift step closer to Elizabeth, “Revenge won’t bring your father back, Ms. Swann, and it’s not something I’m intending to die for,” He argued. 

“You’re right,” Her sister bit back, “Then what shall we die for?” Elizabeth turned away from Barbossa quickly to address the crew, “You will listen to me. Listen! The Brethren will still be looking here to us, to the Black Pearl to lead, and what will they see? Frightened bilge rats aboard a derelict ship? No. They will see free men, and freedom! And what the enemy will see is the flash of our cannons, they will hear the ring of our swords, and they will know what we can do! By the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs, and the courage of our hearts… gentlemen, hoist the colors!” She cried out. 

“Hoist the colors!” Isabella agreed, a ferocity overcoming her that she didn’t know was there after watching her sister rile their crew up. 

“The wind’s on our side boys, that’s all we need!” Gibbs agreed, sounding almost excited. 

Immediately the crew jumped into action, moving to their stations to get ready to fight. Isabella didn’t quite know what she was feeling, but there was a small part of her that was excited. This was their only chance, and she was going to do all that she could to make sure that Beckett finally met his match, and she knew that in the process she would do all that she could to save Jack, too. 

Instantly from all around them, a storm started to brew, and Isabella almost found herself distracted from the roaring thunder. 

The Black Pearl quickly separated from the rest of the Brethren Court, leading their way into battle, and from across the ocean, the Dutchman did the same. Isabella found herself close to the helm, overlooking the British armada with her sister. 

Suddenly, there was a huge bolt of lightning, that seemed to practically split the water in half, and simultaneously creating a giant maelstrom between their armies. 

Mr. Gibbs was quick to announce the unexpected obstacle, “Maelstrom!” He called. 

Isabella was leaning halfway over the railing to look out over the waters, her excitement disappearing and creating a nervous pit in her stomach instead. 

“Captain Barbossa, we need you at the helm!” Elizabeth warned, as they got closer and closer to the threatening whirlpool. 

Barbossa took only one look at the ocean in front of them to agree with Elizabeth, “Aye, that be true!” He decided, pushing Cotton out of the way to take control, “Brace up the yards you cack-handed deck apes! Dyin’ is a day worth living for!” He ordered. 

Isabella almost cracked a smile at the sight of Barbossa at the helm, where he ought to be, and she was very grateful that he decided to help, she could only hope she’d have the chance to express that soon enough. 

Looking back out over the side of the Pearl, Isabella was anxious to see the Dutchman cutting straight through the maelstrom, “She’s gaining on us!” She warned, turning to Barbossa for orders. 

“More speed!” He cried over the wind, “Haul your wind and hold your water!” 

Turning away from Barbossa, Isabella focused on the Dutchman in the distance again, hoping that she’d catch some glimpse of Jack, if he was even on the Dutchman… There was a horrible chance he could be with Beckett, but she really didn’t want to think about that for too long. 

Sadly, she didn’t notice Jack, instead she saw that the Dutchman was gaining on them almost too quickly, and it didn’t take Jones long to shoot the first cannon. Isabella was forced to duck when the cannonball came flying over the deck, cracking into the railing she was standing much too close to. 

She quickly made her way beside Barbossa, hoping that there would be enough coverage there to protect herself. 

“Take her out, or she’ll overbear us!” Will warned, coming up to Barbossa’s other side. 

Isabella shook her head, there was no way they would win if they cut out now! “No!” Isabella countered, “We need to cut across,” She urged Barbossa, hoping he’d listen to her. 

He shot each of them a quick look before nodding, “Aye, we’ll get to faster waters!” He decided, heeding Isabella’s plan, and spinning the wheel, getting them further into the treacherous waters. 

She was forced to grab onto the Pearl to steady herself, “Prepare to broadside!” Elizabeth called. 

Isabella was proud to see The Pearl was able to gain some distance from the Dutchman, the two ships now staring each other down from opposite sides of the Maelstrom, “At the ready!” She called, helping load cannons. 

Once the Dutchman came up port side, Barbossa was the first one to call to arms, “Fire!” He shouted. 

“Fire, all!” Isabella quickly agreed. 

The results were instantaneous. The two ships fired down on each other, sparing nothing. The crew was forced to duck and dive to avoid the cannons from the other ship, hoping and praying that they wouldn’t get hit. 

Isabella felt herself growing more and more anxious as the two ships got closer to each other, and a huge part of her was growing more desperate to find out if Jack was on the Dutchman right now. Even while she was shooting down Jones’ crew as they tried to board the Pearl, she was thinking about what could’ve happened to Jack, like everything with him, it was absolutely infuriating! 

Thankfully, there was an easy outlet for her frustration at the moment, and she quickly pulled out her sword, letting out a cry as she took out another pirate, who was getting a bit too closer to Barbossa for comfort. 

“Many thanks!” He called over the wind, but it was on deaf ears, Isabella was already bringing her sword down on another pirate. 

What she was able to hear though, was her sister calling out to Barbossa. Thinking she was in trouble, Isabella found herself leaning over the upper railing to look down at the deck, but Elizabeth was fine, miraculously not near any pirates at all! 

“Marry us!” She called out, a smile almost gracing her face.

Isabella gasped, and she would’ve said something, if it weren’t for a sword coming down an inch from her face. Spinning around, she found herself back to back with Barbossa for the moment, him taking on two opponents, while she handled one. 

“I’m a little busy at the moment!” He called. 

Isabella knocked the pirate off the side of the Pearl, and moved to help Barbossa deal with his adversaries just as Will called out to him again. 

“Fine then!” Barbossa called out, sounding almost exhausted. With Isabella distracting the pirate, Barbossa clamored up onto a table, standing high above her sister and Will, delivering a swift kick to another pirate's face, “Dearly beloved, we be gathered here today-” He began, only to be cut off by another attack. 

“Watch out!” Isabella warned, swinging her sword up to dodge another blow as Barbossa was forced to fight once more. 

Between the blows, Isabella was able to see Will and Elizabeth come face to face several times, hopefully exchanging vows, and fighting in between before calling up to Barbossa once more. 

“As Captain, I now pronounce you… You may kiss!” Barbossa announced, laughing as he shot a pirate straight in the face. 

Isabella kicked the navy soldier she was fighting straight in the chest, sending him staggering into Barbossa’s awaiting sword, and she excitedly spun around, hoping to watch her sister finally get married, but of course the two of them were still fighting. 

“You may kiss!” Barbossa repeated, hopping down from the table finally. 

She was forced to turn away from them once more, being pulled just out of a pirate’s reach by Barbossa who quickly impaled him. Turning back to Elizabeth and Will, she noticed that the two of them now had their swords raised to each other! “Just kiss!” She couldn’t help but call, scampering down the stairs to hopefully protect the two of them enough so they could have their moment. 

With the amount of fighting that was going on, she hoped that the two of them wouldn’t waste too much time kissing, they were already outnumbered, and they needed all the help they could get. 

She was roughly pushed from behind, sending her stomach straight into the railing of the Pearl, causing her to lose her breath, but thankfully, she wasn’t beheaded in that instant. Instead, while someone else was fighting off the threat, she had a chance to look over at the Dutchman, and of course her eyes went directly to none other than Jack, who was clashing swords with Jones, the two of them perched precariously atop the sails! 

Suddenly, it seemed like Jack lost his footing, and he slipped, bringing the chest with him, “Jack!” She screeched, a hand covering her mouth as soon as she shouted. Thankfully, Jack managed to hang onto the chest that Jones had just barely snagged, but he was dangling very precariously. 

Forcing herself to look away from him, not wanting to get killed while she was distracted, she swung her sword up to block another attack, pulling her head back at the last minute to see if she could get any sign of Jack at all, since he didn’t look too stable at the moment. When she swung her head around again to look, Jones was standing tall, chest in hand, and Jack nowhere in sight. 

Her lapse in focus, while she was looking for Jack, nearly caused her to get her head caught off, and she quickly came to the decision she was too distracted trying to fight on the Pearl, and it would be much better for her to get herself on the Dutchman, and hopefully she’d be able to find Jack in the process. 

Ropes were flying all over the place, so as soon as the opportunity arose, she sheathed her sword and took a running start, flinging herself over the open waters to make her way to the Dutchman. 

As soon as she hit the deck she was being attacked, and she was forced to pull out her sword once more, hoping she’d find Jack soon enough. She quickly spotted Will, who must’ve come aboard the Dutchman seconds before she had, and he was fighting a pirate himself, and for a second it looked like he was pulling his blows, but she didn’t have much time to focus on that. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take her too long to find Jack, but it was right when Jones used the plank of wood Jack was defending himself with to send him flying backwards. 

“Here!” Isabella called, pulling out her sword to face Jones herself, wanting to distract him long enough for Jack to recover. 

Of course Jones noticed her as soon as she shouted, his tentacles flaring around him as he turned to face her, “You’ll see no mercy from me!” He cried, holding up his sword to Isabella. 

She quickly dodged his attack, skillfully putting herself between Jack and Jones, as she continued to fight him. It didn’t take long for Jones to smack his sword against her side, sending her careening into the side of the Dutchman, her sword clanking to the ground as she groaned in pain, sliding down to the deck harshly. She was able to recover quickly enough to watch him swing down on her once more, and she scrambled to move fast enough, managing to escape a fatal blow, but his sword sliced cleanly through the side of her jacket, ripping through a fair amount of skin. 

Isabella couldn’t help but to shriek, clutching her side as she fell back against the deck, her hand groping blindly for her sword to attempt to protect herself.

When the fatal blow never came, she peered through cracked eyes to see that someone else had gotten Jones’ attention. She tried to focus enough to see who Jones was sparing with now, but she felt her eyes start to flutter shut, the pain threatening to overwhelm her. 

Just when she thought she was going to drift off, she felt someone slapping at her cheeks, trying to keep her awake, “Wake up,” A voice urged, and she slowly forced herself to open her eyes. 

Jack was staring down at her, moving her so she was propped up against one side of the Dutchman, his other hand holding her face, “Good, good, stay awake, this’ll all be over soon,” He promised, making sure she was supported before throwing her hat off her head pulling her bandana off, so her hair was flying everywhere. He wasted no time in slanting the cloth over her bloody side, and moving her hand over it, “Hold tight,” He urged before shifting to his feet. 

“Jack!” She muttered, not wanting to be left alone, but he was already gone. 

She cursed, trying to put more pressure on her wound, and she quickly found Jones again, this time dueling with her sister. She tried to prop herself up, hoping that she could move enough so she’d be able to help her, but she was forced to watch Elizabeth endure a harsh slap across the face that sent her spiraling into the stairs. 

Jones moved to shove his sword straight through Elizabeth’s chest, but Will was faster, stabbing Jones in what should’ve been a fatal blow, but Jones was quick to recover, “Did you forget? I’m a heartless wretch!” He cried, turning around to attack Will with a new ferocity. 

She wanted to watch what was happening, but she was having a hard time focusing, and when Jack came back to her side, the chest landing hard on the ground between them, and she found herself only paying attention to him as he muttered to himself, pulling out the key they’d spend so long searching for and finally unlocking the chest with it, pulling out Jones’ still-beating heart. 

“Do you fear death?” Jones asked, ready to end Will’s life. 

Jack was faster, “Do you?” He called, straightening up and standing halfway in front of Isabella as he held his broken sword up to the heart, very pleased with himself, “Heady tonic, holding life and death in the palm of one’s hand,” He mocked. 

“You’re a cruel man, Jack Sparrow,” Jones cursed. 

“Cruel is a matter of perspective,” Jack countered without hesitation. 

Isabella managed to shift to the side, so she was able to see out from behind Jack’s legs, “Is it now?” Jones asked. 

Without warning, he spun around, stabbing Will straight through the heart. Everything seemed to happen at once, Elizabeth let out a gasp of fright, running straight over to Jack’s side, and a man, who Isabella had to assume was Will’s father, charged at Jones, the only one who didn’t react was Jack, who still held the heart but refused to stab it. 

“Jack, wait!” Isabella pleaded, catching his attention. 

He spun around to look at her, the sword hovering dangerously close to his heart, and all Isabella could do was plead, her eyes brimming with tears as she turned to look at Elizabeth and Will. 

He turned his attention to Will now, and crouched down by him, setting the heart on the ground, and putting the sword into Will’s palm, finally pushing the sword down into the heart. 

Watching Jones react to the blow was more than relieving to Isabella, who finally let herself relax, feeling like she wasn’t going to get attacked at any moment anymore, and then she let her eyes slip shut, succumbing to the exhaustion that was taking over her body. 

She was very frustrated when she was being woken up again, this time by Elizabeth’s cries. She felt a hand wrap around her arm, shaking her awake, “Get up,” Jack ordered, sounding more serious than she was used to. 

Isabella wasn’t used to him sounding so sincere, so she forced herself to sit up straight, looking directly at Elizabeth’s tear-stained face and turning her head to see Will surrounded by Jones’ crew. With a groan, she was able to get to her feet, thankful for Jack, who immediately slung his arm around her waist to help steady her. 

“Can you hold on?” He asked, hiking his arm a bit further around her waist. 

She quickly shoved the bandana under what was left of her shirt, hoping it would stay as she wrapped her arms around his neck, Elizabeth wrapping hers around his waist, and next thing she knew, the three of them were in the air, flying high above the Dutchman as it sunk into the maelstrom. 

Isabella couldn’t help but bury her face in his shoulder, ignoring the pain engulfing her side. It didn’t take long for the three of them to drop into the now calm water alongside the Pearl, and Jack was very attentive, dragging her closer and closer to the Pearl until they were back aboard. 

Even though Elizabeth wasn’t quite in the right mindset, she immediately went to her sister’s aid, pulling out a long scarf once they were on the Pearl, and tightly wrapping up her side, since it was the best they could do for the moment. 

“Jack,” Gibbs called as soon as the three of them were back onboard, “There’s a whole armada out there, the Endeavor’s coming up hard to starboard, and I think it’s time we embrace the oldest and noblest of pirate traditions…” He trailed off. 

Jack pat his first mate on the back, “Never actually been one for tradition,” He decided, “Close haul her. Luff the sails and lay on iron!” He called. 

Barbossa stepped up quickly, “Belay that, or we’ll be a sitting duck!” He ordered. 

“Belay that, ‘belay that’!” Jack ordered back. 

Isabella found it almost amusing to watch Jack and Gibbs argue about the state of their future, and she was thankful Jack was willing to fight it out until they were able to get their revenge on Beckett, and at the same time she was still so drained. 

The crew was quick to follow Jack’s orders, and Isabella let herself get propped up against the railing. Once the crew was following his orders, Jack wasted no time in pulling Isabella away from Elizabeth, almost dragging her towards his cabin. 

It didn’t go unnoticed how he almost carefully wrapped his arm around her middle, pulling her off the railing and managing most of her weight as he forced her along. 

“What are you doing?” She asked, catching herself on him as she tried to not rely on him too much. 

“You’re going to get someplace safe,” He ordered. 

She forced herself to collapse against him, hoping that would get him to stop dragging her towards his cabin, “No, I’m staying out here, if I can help, I’m going to help!” She demanded, shoving at his side. 

Jack scowled down at her, clearly not amused, “Normally I’d be the first to agree, darling, but given your condition…” He trailed off, grimacing as he let his fingers dance over the sash tied tightly over her wound. 

“I’m fine,” She insisted, pulling away from him so she could prove her point. 

He didn’t look very amused with her, and she was forced to take a shaky step backwards before Jack could grab onto her again and pull her further away from the fight, her adrenaline pumping again. 

Jack narrowed his eyes at her, “Ye don’t want to go off facing Beckett with a wound like that,” He tried again. 

“If it means ending this, I’d face him no matter what,” She countered, “And if I can recall, weren’t you the one who made a bargain with him?” She bit back, getting tired of their dispute. 

He opened and closed his mouth several times, like he was at a loss for words, “Right you are,” He decided, taking another step closer to Isabella, “The Endeavor is getting ready, and you’re not going to be out here when Beckett attacks,” Jack urged. 

Before the two of them could argue any more, their attention was being captured by the Dutchman emerging victoriously from the calm waters. Avoiding Jack’s outstretched arms once more, Isabella took a few steps forwards to get a better view of the Dutchman, curious to see what the ship was going to hold, completely ignoring the pain in her side now, and feeling wide awake. 

Once she was close enough to get a good look over at the Dutchman, her jaw dropped. There at the helm was Will, looking as alive as ever! 

A smile broke out over her face, and ignoring her wound once more, she practically ran over to the side of the Pearl, standing next to Barbossa and Elizabeth so she could make sure she knew what she was seeing. 

Jack was at her side in an instant, the shock of Will being there causing a silence to fall over all of them before Jack was shouting out more orders, “Full canvas!” He called, a grin of his own now on his face, her injury all but forgotten by the two of them as the Endeavor got closer and closer. 

He wasted no time in twining his fingers through Isabella’s and pulling her portside, so they had a clear view of the Endeavor as Barbossa took the wheel, steering them parallel to the Dutchman. 

“Orders, Captain?” Gibbs asked, just as Jack reached the side of the Pearl, with Isabella in tow. 

He looked down at her, wrapping his arm back around her waist as support, “Care to do the honors?” He asked, a wicked grin on his face. 

Her heart was hammering in her chest, “Fire!” She ordered, much to her excitement. 

With the combined efforts of the Pearl and the Dutchman, the Endeavor went down in seconds, not firing a single cannon against them, and instantly, Isabella felt a huge weight lift off her chest, she was finally done running from Beckett. 

As soon as the Endeavor sunk, the entire crew of the Black Pearl started cheering, the excitement getting the best of them. Isabella felt herself getting swept up in the craziness of it all, and it only got better when the armada started to turn away, running from the fight. Before she knew what she was doing, she was turning to Jack, and without putting any thought into it, she reached up to grab him by his jacket, and pulled him down into a kiss. 

Jack immediately responded by wrapping his other arm around her, but she was even quicker to pull back, not missing how his lips seemed to chase hers. 

Her face flushed, completely embarrassed by the impulsivity of it all, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-” She began, still clutching tightly onto his jacket, a big part of her not ready to pull away from him. 

Before she had the chance to apologize further, Jack dragged his hand up her back, wrapping it up into her hair and pulling her back to him, pressing their lips together again. He spun the two of them around quickly, pushing her up against the railing of the Pearl, and all rational went out the window at that point, she finally just let herself give in. Isabella pulled her arms around his neck, pulling his hat off his head and tossing it to the side, enjoying nothing but feeling alive wrapped up in Jack’s embrace. 

“My hat?” He mumbled against her lips. 

Isabella hissed, and swatted his shoulder, “We’re even now,” She mumbled back, pulling him back down into yet another kiss, just happy that the two of them had survived. 

When they finally did pull apart, Isabella was embarrassed to see that they had managed to capture the attention of some of the crew, including Elizabeth, making her blush bright red for the second time. But Jack didn’t seem to mind in the slightest. 

She pulled away from him, but immediately knew that was a mistake when she buckled from putting too much pressure on her side. She would’ve fallen straight to the ground if it weren’t for Jack scooping her up under her arms and legs and sweeping her straight off her feet, “Right,” He muttered, wasting no time in marching straight to his cabin. 

Once they were locked inside, he set her down on the bed, “If ye wanted to get yerself back in my cabin, you should’ve thought of a better way than getting yourself injured,” He muttered, shifting through his drawers before pulling out a bottle of rum. 

Isabella groaned, “You’re celebrating already?” She asked, barely able to focus on what he was doing now. 

“Not quite,” He disagreed, marching back over to her side and sitting down next to her on the bed, pulling out a piece of cloth and soaking it with rum. 

She grumbled under her breath but let him do what he wanted, since she couldn’t really argue with him at the moment. Jack wasted no time in pulling the scarf from around her side, which was getting soaked with blood still, before dabbing at the cut with the rag. Isabella hissed at the contact, and Jack was quick to shush her this time, “It hurts,” She complained. 

“You shouldn’t have gotten yourself cut,” He argued back. 

Isabella groaned and buried her head in his pillow, but didn’t argue any further. While Jack continued to work at cleaning her wound for her, she found herself drifting off, and soon enough she was asleep.  

* * *

When Isabella woke up, she was surprised to see that Jack had left her alone, but she was thrilled to see Elizabeth sitting at her bedside. 

“How are you feeling?” Her sister asked, rubbing her hand along Isabella’s shoulder. 

She pushed herself up against the headboard, wanting to feel a little less weak, “Better, thanks to Jack… Where did he go?” She couldn’t help but ask. 

Elizabeth shrugged, “He just left, probably wanted to go celebrate our victory,” She laughed. 

Isabella almost laughed along with her sister, but there was a small part of her that wanted Jack to be here when she woke up, but if it couldn’t be him, at least it was her sister. 

“Will survived,” She brought up, not knowing how Elizabeth had reacted to that earlier. 

She nodded in response, “That’s why I’m here…” She muttered, “I’m going to the Dutchman,” She confessed. 

Isabella sat up a little bit straighter, “Good, you should!” She agreed, happy that her newfound brother-in-law had survived. 

Elizabeth wasted no time in breaking the news, “I’m not coming back,” She confessed, “Will can only stay on land for one day every ten years, I’m going with him, and then…” She trailed off. 

“And then what?” Isabella demanded. 

Elizabeth bit her lip, “I’m not coming back,” She managed to get out. 

A frown came to Isabella’s face, “Wait… You’re leaving the Pearl?” She asked. 

They’d been traveling with this crew for so long it didn’t seem real, there was no way her sister, the pirate king, would ever want to leave the seas, right? 

Elizabeth nodded her confirmation, covering Isabella’s hand with her own, “I have to,” She said softly.

Isabella didn’t know what to say, this was the craziest decision ever! Of course she was going to go with Elizabeth, there was no way she was going to wait for Will ten years by herself, and she was all Isabella had left. But when it came to leaving the Pearl, the decision didn’t seem like it could be that easy, and beyond that, leaving the sea, it felt impossible! 

“Okay,” She decided, trying to justify it by just throwing herself into the decision, “...Where would we go?” 

It was Elizabeth’s turn to look confused now, “You want to come?” She frowned.

Isabella hesitated again, “I guess- I don’t know…” She muttered, not wanting to say the wrong thing, “I don’t want to leave you.” 

Elizabeth let out a laugh, relief flashing through her face, “You won’t be leaving me, I want to go,” She explained, “And besides, you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you gave this up… And I don’t think you’d be able to leave him so easily,” Elizabeth said, a small grin on her face. 

The younger sister frowned, “Are you talking about Jack?” She balked. 

Another laugh escaped Elizabeth, “Who else? You’re obviously in love with him,” She said, bluntly. 

Isabella’s jaw dropped, “I’m not in love with him! -and quiet down, what if he hears you?” She berated her sister, trying to force herself to stop blushing. 

Elizabeth was full on laughing now, “You’ll see it soon enough,” She said, shutting down the talk about Jack, “But I’m here to say goodbye… for now.” 

“But what if I do actually want to come with you?” Isabella immediately countered. 

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, “Do you?” She asked, skeptically. When Isabella wasn’t able to answer, Elizabeth tightly squeezed her hand, “I’ll keep in touch, when I can. And you’re always welcome to visit, ten years is a long time to wait for company. But you belong here, on the Pearl, with Jack.” 

Isabella felt the blush spread across her cheeks at the mention of Jack again, but then it hit her, her sister was  _ leaving _ , “I’m going to miss you,” Isabella confessed, her voice cracking as tears came to her eyes. 

Elizabeth gave her a smile, leaning down to wrap her up in a hug, “I’m going to miss you, too,” She said, pulling away after a moment. 

Before her sister could leave the room, Isabella swung her legs off the bed, pulling herself up to follow after Elizabeth, “What are you doing?” Elizabeth asked. 

“I’m not going to miss your send off,” She said, “Besides, now that Jack’s cleaned it up it feels better,” She lied as she caught up to Elizabeth.

Isabella smiled, opening the door to guide her sister out, “After you, your highness” She said, ignoring her aching side.

Elizabeth left the room, keeping close to Isabella’s side, just in case she needed an extra hand. The crew seemed to be waiting for Elizabeth, as if they knew she was getting ready to leave. A dinghy was prepared for Elizabeth, and her attention was quickly pulled away by people who wanted to say their goodbyes. 

Isabella took a step backwards, leaning against the railing to support herself as she watched Elizabeth flutter from person to person. It didn’t take too long for her to catch Jack’s attention though. As soon as he noticed her standing there he made her way over to her side, purposely striding over until he was standing right next to her, leaning on the railing as well, watching Elizabeth. 

Her heart started to flutter as soon as he made his way over to her, and she wasn’t quite sure what to say to him. Thankfully, he spoke up first, “You’ve made your choice, then?” He pondered, not bothering to look at her as he bit at his fingernails. 

Immediately, a frown came to her face, she thought that Jack would at least be happy she was staying on the Pearl, maybe she  _ would _ have to leave with Elizabeth, “... I think so,” She confessed after a moment, trying to gauge his reaction. 

Jack shifted, resting his elbows on the railing now, “Well,” He hummed, “If you ever find yourself changing your mind… There’s always a spot for you on the Pearl,” He offered, bowing his head. 

Isabella blinked dumbly, “What?” She asked. 

Jack’s head shot up, and he turned to her, looking equally as confused, “What?” He repeated. 

Suddenly, a smile came to Isabella’s face, and before she knew it, she was laughing at the both of them. She tried to calm down, but the look on Jack’s face made her laugh harder, until he was scowling. 

“If it’s so preposterous-” He began, sounding insulted. 

Immediately Isabella cut in, “No, no, it’s not at all!” She insisted, taking a breath, “I’m staying on the Pearl, I’m staying with you,” She confessed, another grin threatening to break out on her face. 

Jack’s face was blank for a moment, he looked more lost than she’d ever seen him, but it seemed to hit him all at once, “Course you are!” He grinned. 

Isabella was still smiling as she pushed herself off the railing, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling herself close to him. Jack let out a breath and wrapped his hand up in her hair, pulling her tighter to him as he embraced her in return. 

After a moment, Jack cleared his throat, and Isabella pulled away from him, “Best to say your goodbyes now, luv,” He said, nodding towards Elizabeth, who was clearly having a hard time not looking over at the two of them. 

Quickly spinning away from Jack, Isabella slowly made her way to Elizabeth’s side. Elizabeth immediately pulled Isabella into a tight hug, “Bye Liz,” Isabella mumbled against her sister’s shoulder, “Tell Will I’m going to miss him,” She sniffed, pulling back from the hug slightly to look up at Elizabeth. 

“Love you,” Elizabeth smiled, tears brimming in her eyes. 

Isabella squeezed her sister’s hand, smiling sadly, “Love you too, and I’ll see you soon, right?” She asked, knowing that she would never let herself go too long without seeing her sister. 

Elizabeth nodded, grinning as she did so, “Right, see you soon,” She pulled Isabella into another quick hug before whispering a final goodbye, finally peeling away from her to climb down to her boat. 

Isabella made sure to learn as far over the Pearl’s railing as she possibly could so she could watch her sister take off towards the Dutchman, waving while she sailed farther and farther away. 

She didn’t turn away until Elizabeth was climbing up to board the Dutchman, Will helping her when she got close enough. 

When she let herself turn away from her sister, wiping the last of her tears from her eyes, but with a large grin on her face. Looking over the Pearl, she couldn’t quite believe that she was going to stay! 

She noticed that Jack had slipped away to Captain the Pearl, and all thoughts of Elizabeth went out the window. Looking up at Jack, she felt the butterflies come back to her, her mind going back to what Elizabeth had said to her earlier. 

There was no way she was  _ in love _ with Jack. 

Okay, so she had to admit she was attracted to him, and she was so grateful to have him back on the Pearl, but it was a strange situation to be in. 

If she was going to be staying with them, then they might as well figure out whatever was going on between them sooner rather than later. 

Raising her chin and wrapping an arm around her side for support, she decided she was going to figure out what was going on right now, or maybe she would have to go sail over to the Dutchman, before it was too late. 


End file.
